13-05-2025
Former 'Coco Joy' boss Tim Xenos facing 18-months jail-time after being found guilty of misusing more than $100,000
The former boss of a health foods company behind coconut water brand Coco Joy is facing jail time after misusing more than $100,000 to pay for personal bankruptcy and legal expenses.
Tim Xenos, the former chief executive of FAL Healthy Beverages, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of an array of crimes in February.
He was first charged by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in 2021 where the corporate watchdog claimed Mr Xenos had misused the companies' funds and was running the business despite being disqualified due to bankruptcy.
Court Magistrate Susan Horan found Mr Xenos had committed these offences between November 2013 and September 2015 when he was FAL's CEO.
Mr Xenos was found to have used his position dishonestly to 'gain a financial advantage of approximately $111,392 … by using company funds to pay for personal legal fees and to seek to annul his bankruptcy", according to a statement from ASIC.
He also deliberately failed to disclose his income (US$14,500 per month) and bank accounts to his bankruptcy trustee.
Mr Xenos had pleaded not guilty to the crimes on three occasions between November 2023 and October 2024, but failed to succeed on any occasion.
'In sentencing Mr Xenos, Magistrate Horan said Mr Xenos demonstrated a lack of contrition and insight into his offending and that no other sentence but imprisonment was appropriate,' ASIC said.
The former FAL boss will have to serve 200 hours of community service alongside his prison time and has been automatically disqualified from managing companies until February 2030.
Mr Xenos' personal website, which appears to have last been updated in September 2023, says he takes 'an imaginative approach toward the beverage scene'.
It references a now closed company called Bevpax where multiple types of beverages were produced including coconut water, aloe vera drinks, protein drinks, cold brew coffee and tea, and CBD beverages.
'Tim Xenos has been focusing on producing CBD-infused beverages including functional waters, isotonic beverages, and ice teas,' Mr Xenos' website reads.
'Tim prides himself on being a leading innovator in the beverage industry, and he continues to research new possibilities that are not currently being explored.
'The key to entrepreneurship is the ability to fill gaps in an industry, and Tim is doing exactly that.'
