Accountant convicted of misleading ASIC
A Gold Coast accountant has been sentenced to eight months imprisonment after pleading guilty to providing the Australian Securities and Investments Commission with misleading information about a fictitious person.
Paul Anthony Scott, a chartered accountant from Southport, admitted to one count of lodging false documents with ASIC and a second charge of obstructing the regulator, and will serve his sentence by way of an intensive correction order.
ASIC said it had flagged concerns after an investigation found that "on 27 occasions between 1 July 2010 and 30 March 2013, Mr Scott lodged documents with ASIC, concerning seven companies, that contained false and misleading information."
"The misleading information related to the citing of a fictitious person as a company director in various documents," the regulator said.
"Mr Scott was also charged with one count of obstructing ASIC. The charge related to evidence that Mr Scott and his former business partner, Mr Graeme Dwyer, lied about the existence of a fictitious director, Mr Edwards, during questioning by ASIC and took other steps to obstruct the investigation."
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