Former Sydney adviser jailed
A former Sydney-based financial adviser has been sentenced to three years and nine months in prison after being found guilty of six charges of dishonest conduct.
Thirty-one-year-old Peter Braun pleaded guilty on April 11, 2008, in the Sydney District Court after an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission into his conduct while working as an authorised representative of Fundamental Group, which is currently in liquidation.
According to ASIC, six investors gave Braun a total of approximately $1.2 million to manage, in what they believed would be separately traded individual accounts.
ASIC alleged that Braun pooled the funds into one account and subsequently provided reports containing false information regarding the value of the investments and lost almost $840,000 between July 2005 and October 2006.
It was alleged that Braun then forged documents to conceal the true state of the funds, for which he was sentenced on a further two charges under the NSW Crimes Act for making false instruments in relation to ‘buy and sell share contract notes’.
Braun was sentenced to three years in prison on each of the six charges to be served concurrently and a further nine months on the two NSW Crimes Act charges.
He has a non-parole period of two years and five months and will be eligible for release on December 24, 2010.
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