A Victorian property developer who defrauded investors has been sentenced to five years and three months in jail, following an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The County Court of Victoria heard that Carlo Cini, a former director of C Cini & Company Pty Ltd, had obtained $1 million from seven investors for a property development being undertaken by the company.
However, an ASIC investigation found that Cini had used the money to fund a deposit to purchase a family home, meet mortgage repayments, pay other investors and meet payments on multiple car leases — including several Mercedes Benz and a Ferrari.
ASIC reported that Cini also obtained a financial advantage for the company by evading debts due to the investors. This related to the issuing of valueless cheques to the investors worth more than $700,000.
A further charge related to an investor agreeing to enter into a loan agreement on the basis of reckless statements made by Cini, which helped him to avoid a debt payable to the investor of $420,000.
Investigations revealed that at the time of the conduct the company was facing significant financial difficulties and Cini was in no realistic position of meeting investor repayments.
At a hearing in March, Cini pleaded guilty to the $1 million fraud alongside 10 counts of obtaining property by deception, 11 counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one fraudulently inducing a person to invest money.
Appearing before the County Court of Victoria, today, Cini was ordered to serve a minimum of three years and three months of a sentence of five years and three months before being eligible for release.
Following the sentencing announcement, ASIC commissioner Greg Tanzer said, Cini's sentence showed that those willing to flout investment laws could face prison sentences.
"ASIC will act to ensure those who disregard their responsibilities face the appropriate penalty," he said.
"As today's sentence shows, jail time is a very real possibility."
