The former chief executive of van Eyk Research, Mark Peter Thomas, has been sentenced to one year and three months imprisonment.
The sentence was be served by way of an Intensive Correction Order, including 250 hours of community service, for using his position as a director dishonestly with the intention of directly or indirectly obtaining an advantage for himself.
Between about 31 January, 2014 and 20 February, 2014, Thomas dishonestly used his position as director of New Zealand-based van Eyk Research subsidiary Blueprint Investment Management Limited (Blueprint) by recommending and facilitating Blueprint investing nearly $5 million in a separate fund, the Wholesale Enhanced Income Fund.
The funds were then loaned to another company, TAA Melbourne Pty Ltd, to purchase an interest in van Eyk Research, of which Thomas was also CEO.
These transactions prevented a third party from gaining control of van Eyk Research, ensuring that he was able to remain as CEO and chief investment officer of van Eyk Research .
Judge Bourke described Thomas’ conduct as “complex and sophisticated”, and also observed that, although there was no investor loss, he “exposed managed funds to risk”.
Judge Bourke took into consideration Mr Thomas’ guilty plea, the loss of his career in financial services, and that as a result of his conviction, he would be banned from managing a corporation for five years.
He was sentenced on 14 November, 2022 at the New South Wales District Court, after previously pleading guilty to breaching his directors’ duties on 31 May, 2022.
He was convicted of breaching s184 of the Corporations Act 2001, which at the time of the offending, carried a maximum penalty of $340,000 or five years imprisonment, or both.
The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions following a referral from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
ASIC have long shown to be pathetic in everything it does.
An Intensive Correction Order is not jail time at all. He doesn’t set foot in a jail – just has to do community service.
What a joke. 1.5 years in a white collar jail and investors lives are ruined whilst Mac bank froze the funds…… and Michelle Levy wants to give special carve outs to these insto’s and guys like this….The irony when you can face more jail time for giving out a FDS with spelling mistakes in it and some wrong dates. ….more ASIC corruption.