A Western Australian man has been sentenced to four years in jail following an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) investigation which uncovered three counts of fraud worth more than $7.5 million.
Jonathon Kur, former authorised representative of Hogan and Partners Stockbrokers, was charged in relation to options trading and dealing in options for a number of clients located in Botswana.
ASIC alleged that between May 2005 and December 2008, Kur intentionally hid trading losses he accumulated on three overseas client accounts.
"Investor faith was seriously breached on this occasion and the severity of the sentence reflects the serious nature of the offence," ASIC commissioner John Price said.
In July 2009, Kur was permanently banned from providing financial services following an initial ASIC investigation which uncovered more than $9 million in Hogan's client losses as a result of Kur's dishonest behaviour.
He was accused of engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to a financial service; inducing clients to trade in options by publishing a statement he knew was false; acting contrary to his clients' instructions; and for engaging in dishonest conduct in the provision of financial services.
In November 2011, Kur pled not guilty to 16 charges of fraud worth $8.8 million and guilty to one charge of dishonestly using his position as an employee of Hogan's.
He was placed on bail before appearing again in court in November 2012 where he pled guilty to the three counts of fraud worth $7,556,773.
