Exclusive: Marilyn, a 60-year-old woman from Victoria, thought she was making a wise financial decision when she responded to a Facebook ad offering a superannuation health check two years ago.

Facing retirement, Marilyn aimed to secure a modest pension following a challenging period marked by the loss of her husband in 2016.

With a significant life insurance payout and their combined superannuation funds in hand, she was keen to safeguard her financial future.

However, what ensued was a financial ordeal that left Marilyn feeling regretful and frustrated.

“I thought, what a foolish mistake I’ve made. It left me feeling angry with myself,” Marilyn shared with nine.com.au.

“I felt so terrible that I had possibly wasted my husband’s superannuation, my superannuation and the payout for his life insurance.”

But how could 12,000 Australians make the very same costly “mistake”?

After a lengthy super “health check” with a financial advisor firm, Marilyn decided to transfer her fund from HESTA over to a fund known as AusPrac in November 2023.

She then rolled together all her money under the one account, hoping she could boost returns.

AusPrac, also known as Australian Practical Superannuation, is operated by parent company Sequoia Financial Group.

9news.com.au has previously contacted Sequoia for comment but has not received a reply.

ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Diversa Trustees Limited – the trustee for AusPrac – alleging failures relating to the First Guardian Master Fund. Diversa said it would “vigorously defend” the claims.

On December 23, ASIC imposed extra licence conditions on Diversa over what it alleges were a series of governance failures. Diversa acknowledged the new conditions but argued they were not “necessary or warranted in the circumstances”.

Marilyn was living off her savings and wanted to withdraw some of the funds 18 months later.

“I rang up to tell my superannuation body that I wanted to start drawing down a pension,” Marilyn explained.

“And at the time, the man said, ‘Oh look, I’m terribly sorry, haven’t you heard your super is frozen and you can’t access it?’”

Her money had been funnelled into First Guardian, which went into liquidation in April this year.

She didn’t have enough money in her savings account to keep going without the funds.

“I thought, OK this is going to be difficult, but I’ve done difficult things before,” she added.

A recent check of her AusPrac super balance showed she had just $10.49 left in it.

Marilyn said a small part of her knew something was amiss after she jumped through the hoops during her “health check”.

“I knew there was a bloody rat. I smelled the rat and I dismissed it… or allowed myself to be reassured.”

As the watchdog sues various entities and attempts to untangle First Guardian and Shield’s failures in an investigation, people like Marilyn are playing the waiting game.

Amid the heartbreak has been a bright spot: the Facebook community.

There are nearly 2000 Australians facing the same uncertain future who have joined forces to demand government intervention.

“That really helped,” Marilyn said.

“And then I started to think, ‘OK, maybe, you know, I wasn’t so stupid making that decision’.”

Chief among the supportive Facebook group members taking action is Melinda Kee, who lost $360,000 in the First Guardian collapse.

Kee has become a voice for the thousands of confused and worried Australians who have lost a collective $1.2 billion in retirement savings.

“Melinda came and visited me here,” Marilyn said.

“She was just so lovely. She gave me a hug and comforted me… I needed face and a name, having a human being in my kitchen saying, ‘There’s a whole lot of us, and we’re already doing a whole lot of things’.”

Australians like Marilyn and Melinda won’t stop trying to find justice for the 12,000 people who have had their futures stolen.

Marilyn didn’t want to tell anyone about the money she’d lost.

Now, she hopes her vulnerability will help those financial victims still blaming themselves.

“It shook trust in myself,” she added.

“Now, I am finding out how to get back that integrity and dignity. I don’t want to lose faith in myself… or feel I make bad choices.”