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The founder of the collapsed First Guardian superannuation fund has been accused of resigning as a director from celebrity chef Scott Pickett’s restaurant group because he knew the business was insolvent.
During a public examination in the affairs of the First Guardian fund held on Thursday, David Anderson denied suggestions he had abandoned the group because he knew it would collapse.
At the time of Anderson’s resignation, Pickett’s business owed the First Guardian fund $12 million which it could not repay, the court heard.
The money had been advanced to Pickett’s business while Anderson sat on the boards of both the fund and the restaurant group, which owns five of Pickett’s venues.
The cash was then used to increase the number of venues in the group during the pandemic at a time when other hospitality ventures were going to the wall.
First Guardian and the fund’s manager, Falcon, collapsed in April 2025, wiping out $500 million in investor money, amid allegations Anderson had used investor money to fund his pet projects, including his business with Pickett, Rogue Traders. Pickett is not accused of wrongdoing.
Anderson’s resignation from Rogue Traders the month beforehand came just weeks after the corporate watchdog launched action in the Federal Court to freeze the assets of First Guardian and Anderson.
The collapse of Falcon and First Guardian and Anderson’s legal issues caused significant issues for Rogue Traders.
Rogue Traders entered administration in September last year, and the court heard it was suspected of trading while insolvent. The Age reported in November that it owed its creditors $27 million before its collapse.
Anderson told the court he had resigned because of concerns from other lenders to Pickett’s business.
“My involvement was problematic at that point,” Anderson told the court.
“What made you come to the conclusion that it was problematic?” asked registrar Timothy Luxton, who was overseeing the examinations.
Anderson responded: “I can’t remember the specific genesis of the problem.”
Anderson later added: “Best of my recollection, it related to funding partners supporting the business, separate to First Guardian … I don’t have enough clear recollection of the specifics.”
Anderson told the court that he had advanced the money to Rogue Traders in the expectation that the money would be returned at a later date when the business was sold to new investors or new lenders were brought in.
The polite and well-spoken former investment manager told the court that he could not recall exactly when he met Pickett, but he believed it was about a year before First Guardian advanced the group $12 million in 2021.
He said he believed he was introduced through a mutual contact. First Guardian’s liquidators have also alleged that Anderson’s First Guardian advanced a further $6 million to Rogue Traders while he was a director of the group.
Anderson could also not explain why the loan agreement between Rogue Traders appeared in First Guardian books as being issued in September 2021, while the actual loan agreement was dated November 2020. Anderson previously told the examinations that the record-keeping at First Guardian was inadequate.
This masthead has previously revealed that the money was used by Rogue Traders to expand the number of restaurants in the group, including Chancery Lane in Melbourne’s CBD and Smith St Bistrot in Collingwood.
Rogue Traders also owned Pickett’s venues Matilda 159 in South Yarra and Longrain in the CBD. Despite the group’s financial troubles, all of the restaurants have continued to trade and are honouring all gift vouchers.
Earlier in the examinations on Thursday, lawyers for the liquidators to First Guardian quizzed a man whose property development companies were advanced $46 million by the fund.
Abdullah Guerinat told the court he could not remember the details of a range of transactions using his companies’ money over a three- to four-year period from 2021 to 2025.
The court heard these transactions included a $163,000 withdrawal from an ATM, an $85,000 outlay on a watch, $39,000 for works on a pool, a $30,000 Porsche, a $22,000 motorbike and a $13,000 company dinner.
Guerinat told the court he would have to refer to his work and personal notebooks to provide the court with more details of the transactions.
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Sarah Danckert is a senior reporter who specialises in investigations and corporate wrongdoing. She is a two-time Walkley Award winner, and has won six Quill Awards and two Kennedy Awards.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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