ASIC has succeeded in winding up the issuer of Mayfair 101's debenture products, with the Federal Court ordering M101 Nominees to wind up.

The is the first outcome arising from ASIC's ongoing actions against Mayfair 101 Group and its director James Mawhinney.

Said Jahani and Philip Campbell-Wilson of Grant Thornton have been appointed as liquidators.

M101 Nominees raised approximately $67 million from investors during 2019 and 2020 based on representations that funds invested would be fully secured, when they were not, ASIC said.

In March 2020, M101 Nominees stopped repaying funds to investors and then it froze interest payments to investors from June 2020.

"ASIC moved decisively early last year, directly and then ultimately through the courts, to restrain Mayfair from promoting these allegedly misleading products and to protect not only potential new investors but also the interests of existing investors," ASIC acting chair Karen Chester said.

"This action is one of several we have underway (under our project True to Label) targeting fund managers not doing the right thing by investors. Especially those fund managers preying on unsophisticated investors, such as older Australians and retirees in regional Australia."

The court heard in September 2020 that M101 Nominees was unstable because it was raising funds from noteholders on a short-term basis and then lending for a term of 10 years.

It also heard that distributions and redemptions paid to M Core noteholders were funded from money raised from other M Core noteholders or, to a lesser extent, from investors in unsecured debentures also promoted by Mayfair 101 - in a model not dissimilar to a Ponzi scheme.

However, Mawhinney has aggressively defended the company against the Ponzi scheme allegations.

"The Ponzi claims made against us are meritless, highly defamatory and are the basis of an unwarranted character assassination," Mawhinney said.

"All debt-funded businesses operate on the same principles - departing investors are refinanced with incoming investors. Ask any investment manager running a debt-based business. It is beyond me how these allegations can be given any airtime in Court, in the media or online when they defy conventional finance principles and misrepresent a compliant business."