This Sydney accountant is being chased for $220 million. Jo and James are still heartbroken

Western Sydney accountant Christopher Edwards owes more than $220 million to as many as 500 investors, as the corporate regulator commences legal action seeking to wind up 12 companies associated with him.

The NSW Law Society on Tuesday refused to renew Edwards’ practising certificate – a licence allowing him to work as a solicitor – after finding he was “not a fit and proper person”, according to a statement. A manager has been appointed to oversee his Richmond-based firm, a move the Law Society makes only when it determines there is a serious case of misconduct.

Edwards, who faces allegations he has refused to repay clients tens of millions of dollars, was served with a 90-page affidavit on Friday, a source familiar with the investigation told the Herald. A Supreme Court hearing naming a dozen of Edwards’ entities has been listed for mid-April.

Nearly 30 clients who spoke to this masthead as part of a months-long investigation alleged Edwards engaged in impropriety and unethical conduct. They allege they are collectively owed nearly $30 million. The 65-year-old, they claim, has refused to repay them part or all of these funds over the past two years.

Two sources familiar with the regulator’s investigation into Edwards, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information, said Edwards’ 12 companies had more than $220 million in liabilities across 400 to 500 investors, predominantly mums and dads or self-managed super funds. The figure was closer to $240 million when factoring in loans from banks.

“It is unclear how much would be recoverable from Edwards,” a source said. Up to $170 million had been raised, and Edwards’ companies were generating little or no revenue, the source said.

In a statement on Friday, ASIC said it had applied to the Supreme Court to wind up Edwards’ companies, including those involved in property developments and solar energy in Queensland and NSW.

The regulator said it held these central concerns: that the companies continued raising funds from investors despite it being unclear what the funds were being used for; each had “significant unsecure interest-bearing liabilities” that vastly outweighed the companies’ known assets; and there were limited signs of commercial activity with associated developments.

Edwards’ companies had also failed to comply with statutory obligations to prepare and lodge audited financial statements between 2022 and 2025, the statement said. In September, ASIC banned Edwards from providing financial advice for 10 years, saying it believed he did not possess the “judgment, skill or character to participate in the Australian financial services industry”.

ASIC is seeking the appointment of provisional liquidators by the Supreme Court. The regulator set up a webpage dedicated to assist Edwards’ investors.

Edwards has previously denied any wrongdoing and he did not respond to attempts to contact him on Friday. Asked outside his office earlier this year why he hadn’t repaid his clients, Edwards said the civil courts would “determine whether I have contractual obligations or not”. Asked whether he had done anything wrong, Edwards replied: “Correct. I haven’t.

For siblings Jo and James Packman, reading ASIC’s statement was an emotional experience. After fighting with Edwards for years in an attempt to regain the $1.5 million they allege he owed their family, the Packmans don’t believe they will see a cent. But the commencement of the regulator’s legal action offers a chance of justice.

“We love our family so much, and we are driven by our love for our parents and what they did for us growing up,” Jo says.

“We can’t reconcile the trauma and the devastation this man has put on our family and so many other people.”

Jo emphasises the impact of Edward’s conduct on her mother, Ann, a distinguished speech pathologist who published over 150 papers in journals over a 35-year career. The Packman children allege Edwards talked their then octogenarian mother into withdrawing $445,000 from her superannuation and savings to invest with him.

Like many, their repeated requests to withdraw funds have been largely ignored.

Texts provided by the Packman siblings shows Edwards trying to convince Ann, a retiree, to ignore her daughters concerns about his proposal to take out significant loans on their behalf, describing her as a “very emotional person” who “makes some really bad decisions based on emotion rather than facts on hand”.

The Packmans trace the genesis of their family’s involvement with Edwards back to an advertisement in the local Hawkesbury newspaper nearly 30 years ago.

“Would you like to pay your mortgage off much sooner and have much more for your retirement?” James, who is now the full-time carer for his father, Brian, who has Alzheimer’s disease, recalls of the advertisement.

Three decades after meeting Edwards, the Packmans’ dire financial situation forced the sale of their parents’ North Richmond home to provide funds. For a motor-obsessed family, the forced sale of their father’s pride and joy, a red SS Holden Commodore, to fund their legal fight against Edwards cut deep.

“We’ve spent $70,000 in legal fees already with nothing to show for it. We don’t expect to recover a cent from Edwards,” Jo said.

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