Courts & Police
3 December, 2025
Linden Toll pleads guilty to fraud
On Monday, 1 December, former Highlands resident, Linden Toll pled guilty to two fraud-related charges at Goulburn District Court
On Monday, 1 December, former Highlands resident, Linden Toll, pled guilty to two fraud-related charges for crimes committed in the Highlands.
Mr Toll did not appear before Judge John Pickering, he was granted an exemption and currently resides in Manly, Queensland.
His solicitor entered guilty pleas on behalf of Mr Toll for two charges of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime.
In 2013, Toll founded and became the CEO of Apricity Finance Group Pty Ltd (AFG), which offered loans to small and medium businesses in exchange for purchasing their invoices for a fee of 5% of the invoice value, known as factoring.
Factoring as a financial practice is not unlawful and assists small businesses with cash flow.
AFG went into liquidation a month after the appointment of a receiver on 27 March 2023. Two liquidators were appointed as receivers and managers by one of the firm’s biggest creditors, Global Credit Investments (GCI). The Wire confirmed with the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) that GCI had a security interest registered over all property owned by an AFG subsidiary company, Apricity Transasia Finance.
The security interest was registered against Apricity on an indefinite basis by GCI on the Personal Property Securities Register on 4 September 2019.
Following the appointment of Alan Hayes and Wayne Marshall of Hayes Advisory as receivers, Mr Toll disappeared from the Highlands and became uncontactable.
Police launched an investigation into Toll's dealings in 2023 after being contacted by employees of CGI, claiming that Toll said in August 2017 he was interested in GCI funding AFG, according to the evidence presented in court.
Allegedly, Mr Toll did not attempt to enter into the arrangement until April 2019.
Documents presented to the court stated a due diligence meeting was arranged at the Bowral AFG offices on June 21, 2019. Toll provided GCI with altered balance sheets for both AFG and ATF dated April 30, 2019, showing a more favourable financial position of AFG.
As a result of a 2023 police investigation, Mr Toll was extradited from Queensland on 28 March 2024 and charged with three counts of publishing fake or misleading material to obtain an advantage, three counts of an officer publishing a false or misleading statement to deceive, dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.
A statement by NSW Police following Mr Tolls arrest stated, “Detectives attached to The Hume Police District initiated an investigation into the alleged multimillion-dollar fraud relating to loans and investment companies in the Southern Highlands between 2013 and 2023.”
During a police search of Mr Toll's home after the report was presented to GCI, they discovered five handwritten letters, one addressed to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) stating, “I have lied to the board for a number of years as to the performance of the company."
Mr Toll was arrested on March 26, 2024 by Queensland Police and extradited to NSW two days later.
The matter was heard before Judge John Pickering in Goulburn District Court.
Mr Toll’s bail conditions were continued, with the matter scheduled to return to commence the sentencing proceedings at Goulburn District Court on Monday, 2 February 2026.
Read More: Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, Goulburn, Bowral