Jail term imposed on Queensland adviser

An unlicensed adviser in Queensland has received a five and a half year jail term for the dishonest use of over $500,000 of investors’ money.

An investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) discovered that Shane Hoy, of Tana Merah, Queensland, obtained $556,000 from investors living in New South Wales and Queensland through his company, BG Investments International.

In one instance, Hoy netted $368,000 after advising investors to deposit funds of between $10,000 and $100,000 into various company and personal bank accounts.

In return, he falsely promised the funds would be invested in a fixed term deposit account that would supposedly return a yield of at least 10 per cent per month from a balance of over US$10,000,000.

Hoy pleaded guilty to selling shares to an investor in his company, Biograd Filters Pty Ltd, and transferring the $13,000 to a third party account, which he used for personal purposes.

He also pled guilty to obtaining $100,000, purportedly for a property acquisition, again using the funds for his own means; fraudulently obtaining $75,000 from an elderly person; carrying on a financial services business without an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) and four counts of providing false information while under examination by ASIC officers.

ASIC executive director of enforcement Jan Redfern said the finding was “a timely reminder that those who break laws governing financial services risk significant consequences”.

Hoy was sentenced to five and a half years prison for each of the four fraud charges and six months prison for failure to hold an AFSL and the four counts of providing false information to ASIC, with all sentences to be served concurrently.

The judge ordered that he be recommended for parole after serving 18 months.