Using covid-19 travel restrictions as cover, Michael Bartlett engineered an elaborate fraud to extract nearly USD 2.5 million from unsuspecting US investors promising access to revolutionary technology capable of converting waste to hydrogen.
What US-based Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies thought would be a new source of cheap energy to fuel trucks turned out to be a nonsense conjured up by twice-bankrupt Mr Bartlett.
The High Court was told Mr Bartlett approached Horizon Cell in 2019 claiming to be president of a multi-national group called Global NRG. In his telling, Global had operations in some fifty countries around the world, with plans underway to exploit a new gasification process leading to cheaper production costs for industrial hydrogen.
His proposal did spark interest from senior staff in a business subsequently spun off from Horizon Fuel, a Delaware-registered company: Hyzon Motors Ltd.
Mr Bartlett turned down an offer from Hyzon to invest in its business, bringing his new technology with him.
Instead, Hyzon committed to investing in Mr Bartlett’s business.
Over a twelve month period, Hyzon put USD 2.5 million into a company formed by Mr Bartlett called Global NRG H2 Ltd, in return for a mix of shares and options.
Whilst Hyzon thought its money was being used to capitalise a new stand-alone venture, it later learnt its funds were used in part to buy shares from an existing shareholder under the control of Mr Bartlett, a company called Moonshine Oil & Gas Ltd.
To create an air of credibility to his scam, Mr Bartlett invited senior staff at Hyzon the opportunity to visit any of Global NRG’s world-wide plants before committing to their investment. No such visits were achieved; Mr Bartlett advised pandemic travel restrictions were hampering inspections.
Believing Mr Bartlett’s low profile was intended to ensure confidentiality, and trusting to his veracity, Hyzon paid its money across to an Australia bank account nominated by Mr Bartlett.
Later investigations identified that Mr Bartlett was aged in his early eighties, had no previous experience in the industry, had twice been bankrupted in Australia (in 1977 and 2001) and that his named source of debt finance arranged for their project was a company which had been wound up in New Zealand ten years previously.
Learning its H2 Ltd investment was valueless, Hyzon sued.
In the High Court, Justice O’Gorman ordered Mr Bartlett pay USD 2.7 million; liable in the tort of deceit for lies told which induced Hyzon to invest, and also liable for misleading conduct in breach of the Fair Trading Act.
Mr Bartlett filed a statement of defence, but was barred from defending Hyzon’s claims following his failure to comply with court orders for production of relevant business documents.
Hyzon Motors Inc v. Bartlett – High Court (5.12.24)
25.045