To his staff he was Tony Smith. To banks and financial authorities he was Tony Agius.

To investigators he appears to be little more than a puff of smoke left behind by someone who could be living in Asia, possibly Hong Kong or Beijing.

And to a growing list of consumers across the country who believed they were buying solar panels for their homes, he is the man who stole their savings.

The story of a million dollar-scam began in March when the real Tony Agius, of suburban south Brisbane, answered an online job ad seeking solar panel sales people.

Mr Agius provided a scan of his driver’s licence to his supposed new boss – crucially, someone he had never laid eyes on and who he only communicated with via email.

Days later, on March 28, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission registered a change in officeholders at a company called LG Energy Solutions Pty Ltd.

The sole director became Anthony Agius of Underwood in Brisbane.

According to its ASIC company extract, the address of LG Energy Solutions was level 27, 127 Creek Street in Brisbane’s CBD.

Alarm bells should have rung at the corporate regulator. The building only has 23 floors.

By April, LG Energy Solutions’ “Easter Sale” was popular in the booming market for rooftop solar and battery packages, a product heavily subsidised by the federal government’s solar rebate.

Calling himself Tony Smith, the man no one had seen hired sales staff over the internet on commission-only contracts to flog his “product”.

Read the entire story at the Sydney Morning Herald