Intoxicated by the opportunity to play one of the world's most prestigious golf courses at California's Pebble Beach, stroll the beaches of Hawaii or mix with the uber-wealthy at luxury hotels in the Middle East millionaires' playground in Dubai: This was all on offer for a bunch of small-time accountants being courted to put their clients - superannuants - into an investment in startup music streaming company Guvera.
More than $185 million was raised since 2010, thanks to a network of accountants who were lavished with these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to attend seminars hosted by AMMA, the private equity promoter and major shareholder in Guvera. It appears these accountants, who were advising self-managed super funds on investments, were also receiving incentives to put their clients' money into Guvera. 
AMMA, which is jointly owned by its founder and chairman Darren Herft, has profited handsomely from raising equity and debt for Guvera, which pays a 10 per cent commission for cash raised from investors and 5 per cent for any debt raised.
(Herft also ran AMMA Private Investment, which Bendigo and Adelaide Bank was threatening to wind up in the wash-up of the infamous failed Great Southern forestry investment scheme.)
However, the extent to which these generous commissions to AMMA were used by it to incentivise accountants to push investments in Guvera is not clear. Herft told Fairfax this week that '"from a Corporations Act point of view everything we are entitled to do we may have done, if we have done so, if we have made a payment, we may have made payments in line with the Corporations Act".
He has reportedly disclosed that some advisers and accountants, who directed clients towards an investment in Guvera, received share options.
 Hemorrhaging funds 
However one thing is abundantly clear. Guvera, which is now looking to raise between $40 million and $100 million via a public listing on the ASX is in a parlous situation. Despite the millions that have been pumped into this start-up over the past five years, it is hemorrhaging funds at an alarming rate.
It reported a loss of $81.1 million last financial year on revenue of $1.2 million and in the first half of the current financial year, Guvera has already lost $55.7 million - which if annualised suggests a full-year loss well in excess of $100 million.
The company's prospectus makes no projection about future profits.
By way of contrast, the total in commissions paid to the promoter AMMA is more than $22 million.
And if this Guvera public float gets off the ground - an outcome which must have a large question mark attached to it - the firm gets a commission rate on funds raised of 5.7 per cent (which will rake in $5.7 million if the full $100 million upper limit of the capital raising is reached) plus an additional $450,000 to $600,000 for promotion and marketing.
The Guvera prospectus states that even if only the minimum $40 million is raised in the float, $6.6 million will be used to pay transaction costs, $17.2 million will go to creditor repayments and $4.5 million to repay debt. These amounts tower over those that will be invested to develop the music streaming business.
Meanwhile, the Guvera prospectus reveals that a company related - which is controlled by the parents of one of Guvera's non executive directors Steven Porch - has lent the music streaming business more than $7.5 million - debt which is now in default and is attracting interest of 20 per cent.
And the position is no rosier when it comes to paying other creditors.
The prospectus reveals the company last year made a contract with a multi-national bank (JP Morgan) to raise $100 million of private equity funds, but the funds did not eventuate. Despite AMMA raising $40 million for Guvera that year, it still experienced a cash shortfall, which forced it to enter into a $19.5 million repayment program with suppliers and key creditors including the Australian Tax Office.
The risk is now firmly with the accountants and their clients if the ASX listing does not go ahead. The loophole in legislation that allows accountants to make recommendations to clients on, among other things, the operations of self-managed super funds expires in   July - which would seem to be jeopardising AMMA's ability to continue to tap this source of funding.
The folks at advisory group Rivkin sum it up neatly: "While it's hard not to be sarcastic when it comes to Guvera, there's a very serious side of this with regard to how investors in Australia part with their hard-earned cash."