Investors in failed Geraldton ‘theme park’ plan hope to recover thousands lost in scheme

Investors who were allegedly conned into supporting now-defunct plans to build a Disneyland-type theme park in Geraldton have had a win in court which may lead to the recovery of some of their cash. Singaporean businessman Jerome Tan was the public face of the project which would have seen a huge area of land on the outskirts of Geraldton developed into a “Chinatown city”. He also told investors he had grand plans for a theme park for Geraldton, an international school and for the airport to receive international arrivals. But there has been little to no progress on the development, with the expansive parcels remaining barren paddocks. Two separate companies linked to Mr Tan own three plots of land in Moresby — Geraldton Land Pty and Rentak Land Pty Ltd. The latter was declared insolvent in Singapore’s High Court earlier this month, with KordaMentha appointed as liquidator. About seven years ago, Singapore resident Jochen Siepmann invested $10,000 with Mr Tan — a mere fraction of the “life savings” he said some may have lost to the businessman. Mr Siepmann said Mr Tan had since ceased contact with him and did not appear in court at the April 1 hearing. He said there was now hope the liquidator could help recover some of the funds lost to Mr Tan’s proposed Geraldton development. “The money I invested is very small compared to some who invested 10 to 30 times more than me. Some invested their life savings, so it is really tragic for some of these people,” he said. “This is the only way we can ever get some money, and would rather get some back rather than nothing at all.” Mr Siepmann said property data showed the Moresby land parcels sold for upwards of $2 million in 2014, and it does not appear to have been subdivided and sold off since. He said about 70 investors who had supported Mr Tan’s business ventures in Geraldton and overseas have now filed police reports against the businessman, with investigations understood to be ongoing.