Perth man faces jail after squandering millions
Seville Grove man Trent Bowden had it all. Millions in the bank, expensive cars, regular overseas holidays, designer clothes, a $50,000 Rolex and money to spend on his expensive hobby: clay pigeon shooting.
The 40-year-old now faces a lengthy period behind bars after he was arrested and charged after authorities investigated his investment business and were found to have spent $1.5 million of his clients’ money on himself.
One of these clients was his own father, whom he claimed was dead along with other lies.
Bowden founded Trent Bowden Trading, a foreign exchange investment company, in 2017 and amassed a small fortune within a few years.
In 2024, it had approximately 15 customers spread across the country. At the time, they collectively owed at least $2.17 million in funds loaned between 2017 and 2023.
But instead of distributing the investment dividends he promised, Bowden was living off his dollars. He spent nearly $400,000 on trips to Australia, New Zealand, the United States and England, restaurant meals, electronics and $15,473 worth of “adult entertainment,” according to the administrators’ report.
He also paid $48,745 for a Rolex and other designer items, spent $22,421 on clay target shooting equipment and spent $22,141 on personal development seminars with American behavioral guru John Demartini.
Just over $20,554 went to an athletic trainer, and more than $28,981 was spent on taxes.
More than $106,260 was withdrawn in cash, while more than $789,563 was directed directly to Bowden’s personal account.
The company took a whopping $715,000 deposit in November 2022 as Bowden’s astronomical $26,520 lottery spend helped him defy the odds and become one of only two West Australians to hold the winning ticket in Saturday night’s draw.
The win made national headlines two weeks later when Bowden was dragged to the Supreme Court, accused of cheating the lottery syndicate of its claimed share of the $1.5 million jackpot.
The creditors’ report would later reveal that this matter was resolved behind closed doors, with Bowden claiming to have walked away with just over $1 million.
It was an unexpected event that could have been a life raft that could partially repay Bowden’s investors and help him stay afloat. Instead, only a quarter of those earnings went back into its shaky business. The rest went towards a $200,000 Landcruiser, an $80,000 motorhome, a $14,000 firearm, gifts for the family and $300,000 in “general living expenses.”
Wesley Turner lost almost $300,000 to Bowden. When Bowden learned the company had collapsed in November 2023, he disconnected his phone and suspended his social media accounts.
Turner’s family also invested in Trent Bowden Trading.
Turner said the ordeal turned his entire life upside down and left him with crippling mental health issues, and he abandoned a $70,000 loan he had taken out with Bowden, believing the money he had invested was generating returns.
“My parents went from looking forward to a comfortable retirement and upgrading to the last car they would ever own to spending little on their pension,” Turner said in this byline in 2024.
“This has put my parents and I in a huge predicament and we are all trying to make ends meet on one property.
“It’s hard knowing he’s flying around the world, buying cars and a Rolex watch, living off your dollar while you’re busting your ass.”
ASIC was warned about Bowden’s scheme in 2021 and failed to act, leaving his victims devastated.
Bowden appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court on Friday, where he pleaded guilty to three charges of dishonestly using his position as a director of Trent Bowden Trading Pty Ltd to gain his own advantage.
The penalty for each charge is a maximum of 15 years in prison.
An ASIC spokesman said that between March 2019 and November 2023, Bowden received more than $1.5 million from investors through Trent Bowden Trading Pty Ltd after representing that their funds would be invested primarily through foreign exchange trading.
“Instead, Mr. Bowden dishonestly used his position as a director to access and use investor funds for personal expenses, payments to other investors, and other non-commercial purposes,” they said.
He will appear in court again in August for the sentence to be announced.
