More Wattle promoters feel ASIC wrath
Two directors and two employees of another company associated with the notorious Wattle Group have pleaded guilty to charges in the Brisbane District Court and will be sentenced later this month.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions brought charges against the four men, who were associated with Gold Coast-based Australasian Management Consultants (AMC), in relation promotion of the Wattle scheme in contravention of the Corporations Act.
Robert Murray Cooper and Brian Michael Wood, both directors of the company, each pleaded guilty to 21 counts, while employees Lloyd Reginald Ross and Kevin Thomas Browne both pleaded guilty to three and two counts, respectively.
The defendants were charged following an investigation byAustralian Securities and Investments Commission(ASIC) into the failed Wattle Group investment scheme, which raised more than $160 million from over 2,700 investors across Australia.
The charges against Cooper and Wood related to 14 investors who lost approximately $652,795 invested in the Wattle scheme with AMC receiving commissions from the Wattle Group of up to 5 per cent per month on investor funds it sourced.
This week’s convictions follow on from those recorded against directors of other companies associated with the multi-level unlicensed investment scheme closed down by ASIC in 2000.
Anne Shirley Corbett and Robert Edward Corbett, directors of Brisbane-based company, Anscor, were last month convicted after pleading guilty to charges relating to the failed scheme, while in July another Anscor executive, general manager Kenneth Edwin Parker was sentenced to a $1,000 three-year good behaviour bond following his conviction on charges relating to promoting the Wattle scheme.
Earlier convictions involved Australian Secured Mortgages’ Bruce Raymond Walden, who was sentenced to a $2,000 three-year good behaviour bond. While last year, Fin Invest’s Howard Jeffrey Owen was also sentenced in relation the Wattle Scheme to 300 hours community service and a 12-month $1,000 good behaviour bond.
The operator of the Wattle Scheme, Geoffery Robert Dexter, was convicted in May, 2001, of multiple fraud charges and jailed for 10 years.
Recommended for you
ASIC has released the results of its first adviser exam to be held in 2025, with 241 candidates attempting the test.
Quarterly Wealth Data analysis has uncovered positive improvements in financial adviser numbers compared with losses in the prior corresponding period.
Holding portfolios that are too complex or personalised can be a detractor for acquirers of financial advice firms as they require too much effort to maintain post-acquisition.
As the financial advice profession continues to wait on further DBFO legislation, industry commentators have encouraged advisers to act now in driving practice efficiency.
