Former Genius Childcare boss Darren Misquitta pleads guilty to dealing with suspected proceeds of crime

Australia Broadcast Center

17 hours ago

Fallen childcare magnate Darren Misquitta has pleaded guilty to receiving $120,000 in suspected proceeds of crime from a business associate.
On Thursday, the former Genius Childcare boss was fined $4,000 at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court after admitting the money, which he received in 2019, came from a loan drawdown obtained through forgery.
Magistrate Patrick Allen did not record a conviction.
It comes amid investigations into Genius by administrators who have referred Mr Misquitta to the corporate watchdog over the collapse of the group, which owes creditors more than $80 million, and lawsuits alleging the childcare empire failed to pay workers properly.
Court documents show Mr Misquitta received the $120,000 from Lubna Matta, who serves on the board of another large childcare operator where Mr Misquitta is a shareholder, the ASX-listed Mayfield Childcare.
Ms Matta herself has admitted to the same offence of dealing with property reasonably suspected of being the proceeds of crime, in relation to the entire drawdown of $300,000.
In August last year she received a diversion order from the court, sparing her jail time or a conviction.
In a statement of facts agreed to by Mr Misquitta, police said the case revolved around a loan taken out in early 2019 by a business in which Ms Matta was involved in that was a client of Mr Misquitta's at the finance group he ran, Sprint Capital.
The business made a legitimate loan application to the Bank of Melbourne for $410,000 to pay out an existing loan and refurbish their IGA supermarket in Fitzroy.
But a man involved in the business had a heart attack in February 2019 and while he was in hospital, Ms Matta — his sister-in-law — agreed to manage the finances.
Drawing down on the loan required five signatures from Ms Matta and five from her sister.
On February 27, 2019, the bank received a drawdown request asking that $300,000 of the loan be sent to Ms Matta's account.
The money was transferred and in April, Ms Matta went on to send $120,000 from her account to Mr Misquitta.
But Ms Matta's sister's signatures on the form bore "no similarities to her actual signature and have since been identified as forgeries", police said in a statement.
"Based on the allegedly false signature it is alleged that the $300,000 was paid into the account of Ms [Matta], of which the accused was paid $120,000, is reasonably suspected as being the proceeds of crime," police said.
At hearings this week it was not alleged that either Mr Misquitta or Ms Matta forged the signatures used to obtain the money.
But the police statement said he had "dealt with those funds by way of the funds being transferred to his account and the charge is made out".
Ms Matta has been on and off the board of Mayfield Childcare, where Mr Misquitta has been locked in a bitter battle for control with other shareholders including Liberal Party figure Michael Kroger.
She was appointed to the board in December 2021 as part of an agreement where Mayfield bought 14 childcare centres from Genius.
She was a director of Mayfield, which runs 45 centres, until September 2023, when she resigned citing "external professional commitments".
But in January this year she was appointed an executive director while the embattled company was between CEOs.
She stepped down from that role in July but remains on the board.
Mayfield chair Roseanne Healy told the ABC that Ms Matta's criminal case "had not been disclosed to the company".
"As a result, the company have commenced an investigation into the matter," she said.
She said Mayfield operated under strict governance frameworks and has transparent reporting and accountability measures in place.
"As such, we do not condone criminal behaviour of any kind," she said.
Mr Misquitta's main business for the past few years has been Genius.
At its height, Genius ran more than two dozen childcare centres in Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria and Western Australia, and was developing 17 more, while Mr Misquitta lived in a historic Toorak mansion.
But in March two key companies in the group collapsed owing more than $80 million, handing control of 25 centres over to administrators.
Mr Misquitta declared himself bankrupt late last month following the collapse of his childcare empire.
On Monday, his barrister, Sam Tovey, told the court Mr Misquitta does not have a job, his marriage has broken down and he has moved to the Gold Coast.
"At the present time he's able to support himself," Mr Tovey told the court.
"He's got outstanding issues with his businesses that are going to have to be dealt with."
In a July 25 report to creditors of two Genius companies, Vertical 4 and Abacus 49, administrators accused Mr Misquitta of fraud and said they would refer him to the corporate watchdog for prosecution over allegations he breached his duties as a company director.
They said their initial investigations had also identified more than $375,000 in potentially unreasonable payments made by the companies to Mr Misquitta, as well as more than $1.7m paid to law firms at his direction that needed to be looked into further.
Genius had been trading while insolvent since at least July 1, 2020, they said.
The administrators said they were continuing to trade 11 of the centres while they try to sell them.
In the Federal Circuit Court, 57 former employees are currently suing Mr Misquitta and Genius alleging late payment of wages and deliberate and systematic failure to pay super.
Mr Misquitta has yet to file a defence.