The Panther: Inside the Fraudulent Empire of Phillip Garry Crane
Date: 19 December 2024 | Time: 08:00 AEST
In a major private investigation led by 5 Sided Square Pty Ltd, a sprawling financial scam operated by Phillip Garry Crane has been fully exposed. For over a decade, Crane lured unsuspecting investors into his web of deception through fictitious entities, sham trust structures, and fake international operations under the banner of Panther Trading International.
The investigation uncovered that Crane used non-existent companies in Hong Kong and the UK, misappropriated legitimate financial license numbers, and operated under the deregistered Australian company Avatar International Business Consultants Pty Ltd. Clients were told their funds were held safely in a trust—yet that trust was fake, the agreements forged, and the companies listed as trustees didn’t even exist.
Crane’s operation bore all the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme. Funds were collected under the promise of high returns and then misused, with clients facing delays and excuses when trying to withdraw their money. The scheme grew through a network of referrals led by recruiter Michelle May and was protected using pseudo-legal tactics drawn from the sovereign citizen movement—most notably through a failed attempt by Rhys T. O’Leary to derail a settlement with baseless legal defences and harassment.
Perhaps most disturbing is the role of cryptocurrency in the fraud. Crane actively used platforms like Wealth99 and BitGo to convert client funds into crypto assets, some of which were funneled into known scams like OneCoin and other high-yield investment programs designed to hide and launder the proceeds.
The findings paint a picture of a deliberate, multi-jurisdictional fraud aimed at obscuring the trail of stolen wealth. Victims include ordinary Australians, some of whom have lost their superannuation savings, homes, and health to this deception.
This matter has now been formally referred to the Australian Federal Police, and 5 Sided Square is also pursuing ANZ through the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) for multi-million dollar non-compliance, alleging that ANZ's oversight failures enabled this fraud to flourish undetected for years.
As regulators begin to examine this case, the evidence handed over by 5 Sided Square stands as a compelling call for prosecution and reform. This is not just a story of financial loss—it’s a warning of how trust can be weaponised in the hands of a skilled con artist.
