Buyer be warned!
Mount Warning Eco Village is a fresh face and a different name
for an old “bait-n-switch” toxic snake-oil game!
By Gi Linda
If you’re sick of the corporate rat-race, looking for a life-change and dreaming of happy families sharing, caring and growing veggies in harmonious community; if you are all cashed up and a bit credulous, then there are deep blue eyes spinning sweet honey lies with captivating cadence, eager to embrace your life savings in a notorious Mt Burrell property scam.
Attractive online façades with changing names and faces conceal a long line of defrauded creditors pressing for restitution. Headed by Mark Darwin and Adrian Brennock, the current lure, “Mt Warning Eco Village” at mountwarningecovillage.com.au is presented as an exciting opportunity to be part of an up-market “intentional community” dedicated to an alternative lifestyle. The sales pitch sounds smooth, but baited buyers are unaware that habitation is not permitted on the residential sites offered for sale.
Once hooked and bled dry of funds, financiers soon wake up to the reality behind the trance-like delusion; a hidden history of hurt, harm and betrayal that has spat out many disillusioned investors.
Truthology - A Matrix of Lies
Beginning in 2014, followers of Mark Darwin were enticed to fund the scam through an anti-establishment online front, “Truthology”, linked with “Create A Foundation” apparently aiding abused girls. “Freedom Summits” and public presentations in major cities promoted Darwin’s subversive ideology of “Sovereign Citizens”. Flying under the radar of a dynamic, compassionate activist movement with a sagacious international following, the fraudsters spun a land-share scam offering residential sites in an unapproved community on environmentally protected property without development approval.
Potential investors were not told about existing restrictions on use of the land, and employment of a town planner enhanced a false appearance that permits were in process. Soon after the communal venture began, families who were camping and constructing dream homes were forced to leave when Tweed Shire Council took legal action to stop the building of an unapproved “village” on environmentally protected land.
Criminal Charges Expose Fraud and Larceny
I have brought criminal charges of fraud against Darwin, Brennock and Richard Moate, and charges of larceny against property manager Steven McSween for theft of my mobile home valued over $90,000, a caravan and personal belongings, that accompanied the malicious destruction of my Garden.
After driving investors off the Mt Burrell property without return of their money, Mark Darwin’s partner Adrian Brennock, holding a single share of value $1, remained as sole shareholder in the company Wollumbin Horizons Pty Ltd, and still asserts control as the illegitimate yet legal sole owner of the land asset. They then appointed themselves co-directors of a new company, Rainmaker Eco Investments Pty Ltd, and together with Cherrie Stokes and Philip Dixon, bought the commercial precinct adjoining Bhula Bhula, including Sphinx Rock Cafe, shops, fuel servo and caravan park.
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| Mt Burrell Commercial, purchased by Darwin, Brennock & co in 2016 |
The Mt Burrell property scam was first exposed in October 2016 in my Nimbin GoodTimes article, “The Truth About Bhula-Bhula by Gi Linda"
“Legal action is in process by disillusioned investors in a community at Mt Burrell, near Nimbin. The community was founded by Mark Darwin through his organisation, ‘Truthology’. Investors warn that ‘Truthology’ presents a matrix of lies, using misleading marketing to facilitate acquisition of multi-million-dollar properties.
“Investors paid up to $120,000 for fake shares in the 640 acre property and some also transferred their superannuation, falsely assured by Mark Darwin and Adrian Brennock that development applications were in process and would be fast-tracked to approval."
Tweed Council strongly warned that no community would be permitted on that property because parts of it are protected as rainwater catchment. Yet these warnings were kept hidden from investors by Darwin and Brennock.
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| Sites for sale on protected land |
Fraud occurred when the first and second plaintiffs deceptively offered consensual contractual terms that were later dismissed or switched, demonstrating prior intent to vary the conditions after “selected” investors had fully paid.
During their recorded sales presentation, (min 40) the first plaintiff assures his audience that “sweeping legislation allows for habitation” on the Land and he demonstrates contempt for local authorities and neighbours:
"Recreating the Village" Promotional Presentation in Sydney
An archived video recorded at a sales pitch in Sydney in August 2015, “Recreating the Village” was posted online and is now removed. “Recreating the Village” demonstrates how the first and second plaintiffs set up an apparently impenetrable fire-wall protective structure using the services of Wroth Wall Lawyers, before deceiving potential investors with misleading information.
Mark Darwin: “We’ve already been contacted by Tweed Shire Council, 48 hours after settling... the locals have already contacted Santa Clause ... they’ve accused us of carrying out illegal works and all sorts of stuff. But we want to develop a relationship with them... Cough-cough.”
Adrian Brennock: “Bullshit!... We’ve ruffled a few feathers.
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Mark Darwin: “And if you know AB and I, we don’t get bullied by authorities!”
Darwin admits that apart from their willingness to comply with construction safety standards for residences, they do not intend to seek any prior Development Approval, but intend to get “current approval status” extended.
Only an inner circle knew that the advertised lots were reserved for future water catchment to a proposed dam at Byrrill Creek.
In December 2015, an independent town planning report advising that multiple occupancy would not be allowed was hidden from investors, who began building dream-homes with exotic mountain views.
“Those who sniffed a scam and called for accountability were menaced and forced out of the community. When an accidental fire in a camper almost set the forest ablaze, Tweed Council ordered everyone to leave.
Investors were driven off the property without return of their funds and without share titles. Loans were not repaid. Despite calls for transparency, all books were hidden. The cattle were sold and abandoned paddocks overgrown with weeds.
A sign bolted to the broken front gate warned ‘ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!’”
Following the Nimbin GoodTimes exposé, Mark Darwin’s front groups all disappeared. Truthology, Freedom Summits, Create A Foundation, the Bhula-Bhula websites, FaceBook pages and all marketing videos were scrubbed from the internet with apologies, while the ongoing abuse of truth just took on a new guise.
Darwin whimpered empty promises that overdue loans would be repaid and reassured defrauded investors their money would happily be returned… except that “fines” must be imposed, leaving nothing to return.
Instead of ending the fraud and making restitution after being exposed, Darwin’s gang, with the new front company, Rainmaker Eco Investments, went fishing for more investors, and the land-share scam resurfaced as they continued selling fake shares in the failed Bhula-Bhula Community.
Darwin and Brennock, together with Phillip Dixon, then presented a new façade, “Mt Warning Eco Village”, and extending the “Village Community” from Bhula-Bhula to a neighbouring property, "Nightcap Forest".
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| Peter van Lieshout - Mt Warning Eco Village |
In collaboration with landowner Peter van Lieshaupt, Darwin, Brennock and Dixon began advertising residential lots on the adjoining land in Nightcap Forest, in areas which, like the property used for the failed "Bhula Bhula Village Community" are also protected for rainwater catchment.
As the visionary developers are well aware, both properties are part of an area protected for rainwater catchment to provide future drinking water to the Gold Coast with a proposed dam at Byrill Creek.
Tweed Council confirms warnings received by the prospective developers that, as with the adjoining "Bhula Bhula" property, the area they are advertising as designated for residential lots in "Mt Warning Eco Village" is reserved for future water-catchment — no habitation is permitted.
Despite the restrictions to potential use of the and and the failure to lodge development applications, the advertised Eco Village was promoted nationally and internationally, and loans are sought to facilitate purchase of the land by Darwin, Brennock & co in a prospective shareholder agreement with landowner Peter van Lieshaupt.
To silence opponents, Darwin, Brennock and their bully-boyz aggressively confronted and made defamatory ad hominem attacks on all who have exposed or opposed them.
To date, no development application has been approved for the establishment of a village on the protected land, and despite dishonest assurances by Darwin’s boyz that they do have green-lit DA approval, no Development Application has even been initiated.
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| Tyler Tolman celebrating the launch of "Mt Warning Eco Village" with Adrian Brennock |
In 2016, with fake shares in the failed Bhula-Bhula Community still being sold, Mt Warning Eco Village was advertised as a unique opportunity to buy into an “entire town” on 3,500 pristine acres. Plans include a medical cannabis university and dispensary with a luxury spa hosted by international celebrity health coach Tyler Tolman, who runs an expensive Bali resort offering “Heal Thy Self” juice fasts.
In August 2016 Mark Darwin posted online: “Now we've just bought the entire township of Mount Burrell, and are taking on investors who wish to join us... Tyler Tolman has secured space at our Intentional Community near Mt Warning.” Asked about his participation in the alleged fraud, Tyler Tolman confirms he is collaborating with the venture.
Mark Darwin and the Boyz
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| Mark Darwin, Caroline Coman |
Mark Darwin, a master of chameleon disguise lurking in the background, assumes the identities “Annonymous BB Wife” and “Dummass Boofhead” to menace those who attempt to expose his fraud.
A snake-oil marketing master, Mark Darwin presents himself as a former high-flying finance-monger who had a glorious epiphany when he was healed of a brain tumor by Tyler’s celebrity father, Don Tolman. He tells how he was transmogrified from a scurrilous money-grubber into a humble "Sovereignty" guru, saving people from corporate enslavement - for a fee - by sharing "Freeman" tricks such as how to get off paying fines and how to abuse the legal system for commercial advantage.
"Sovereign Citizens" promote their own mashup of common law that's held above government statute. They assume the right to trample truth, discard moral and ethical oversight and ignore legislation that constrains normal mortals from anarchy.
So, regardless of expressed platitudes denying intent to hurt or harm others, "Sovereign Citizens" or "Freemen" feel they are specially empowered to deceive and defraud if it profits their supreme cause. Being a law unto themselves, able to perjure with impunity and with aggressive enforcers at their bidding, Darwin and the Bully-Bully Boyz boast that they will evade accountability, according to their supreme golden rule:
“The Law of the Brute” -- They score the loot and defrauded investors get the boot.
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| Adrian Brennock, "AB" |
While Mark Darwin is a charming salesman and sovereignty mentor skilled in strategic flattery and duplicity, his diminutive partner is Adrian Brennock, known at first a "Mr X", aka Andrew Brennon or “AB”. He is a professional loan shark who claims he is a "former plumber".
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| Kelly McSween, Sales |
Puppet directors Steven McSween and Richard Moate were set up to carry the can in the Bhula-Bhula scam.
For two years, with dishonest marketing by Kelly McSween hiding the harm caused to those they betrayed, Darwin’s gang have continued advertising and selling residential lots in a “harmonious community,” headed by “new young energy”, without revealing their lack of DA approval and environmental constraints on use of the advertised sites.
After being exposed in several local newspapers, Darwin and cohorts simply scrubbed online references to Bhula-Bhula Community, issued threats of extreme litigation to their opponents, then popped-up a new front and continued marketing a “once in a lifetime opportunity to own a town”.
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| Philip Dixon - Mt Warning Ecovillage |
Working closely with Philip Dixon, Darwin says they’re “recreating the village”. He promotes the venture as “ethical, sustainable and green”, as he continues flogging fake shares in a community fiasco built on environmentally protected land without development approval.
The “village”, intended to span three properties with a projected total of 2,300 dwellings, is advertised at mountwarningecovillage.com.au: “Recreating the Village through Community Spirit and Respect of the Planet”.
Distancing the elitist Mt Warning Eco Village from neighboring communities of farmers and local pot-growing hippies who keep alive the communitarian values of Nimbin's 1973 Aquarius Festival, potential buyers are assured: “Make no mistake, these aren’t your daddy’s hippy communes”:
“Those who find themselves on the pioneering growth edge of communal living are calling for a return to our roots… and are advocating for a cultural resurgence of a new form of village living. Learning from both the successes and missteps of our parents’ generation, conscious Millennials and Gen-Xers are uniquely poised to Re-Inhabit the Village in ways the world has never seen.”
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| Location of the property |
Tours showcase the environmentally protected areas that are offered for sale with optional cabins for only $150,000:
“We encourage you to book a tour with us to explore this incredible 3,500 acre project. The tours are usually twice a month (on weekends) and commence at 8am (NSW time) and conclude with a lovely lunch at a log cabin in the middle of the property over looking Tallow Wood Dam at around 1pm. During the tour, you will meet the Founders, existing members, and also some local tribal elders who will welcome you to country, and show you how to introduce yourself to country over time…”
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| Environmentally protected land offered for habitation at Mt Warning Eco Village |
Anyone who enquires about the advertised “ethical investment opportunity” in the Mt Warning Eco Village is first required to reveal their phone number. The automated response is slightly menacing: “We’ve got your number.”
Criminal charges exposing the land-share scam were initiated in private prosecution by Gi Linda on March 28 at Murwillumbah Court after Mark Darwin and cohorts failed in desperate attempts to liquidate the land asset. Legal action by Tweed Shire Council in the Land and Environment Court continues, as well as an investigation by Coomera police.
Litigation and fraud investigation continues as Darwin, Brennock and cohorts persist in soliciting loans to enable them to purchase more properties for their proposed "Ecovillage", located on environmentally protected land.
"Millennials and Gen-Xers" who are “uniquely poised to Re-Inhabit the Village in ways the world has never seen”. Certainly the world has seen every type of scam, but perhaps this one really is original?
Great profit and special privilege can evidently be gained from the simple intent to “re-inhabit” land that is not legally habitable.
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Our community did not fail because of personality differences, it failed because it became obvious that the financials were being kept secret and that $600k was missing from our accounts. 
Now they have crashed us into liquidation 2 days before we were to vote a new trustee and try to rescue ourselves. They have added $550k of fake creditors to the company -- all made-up expenses from their friends and family and other companies they control.
And now they are doing it to another group of poor unsuspecting folks. My heart goes out to those folks.
