A Melbourne financial adviser is facing a maximum penalty of 20 years’ jail for allegedly stealing from his clients.
Earlier this year, Terence Rio Nugara was permanently banned by ASIC for misleading clients into believing they were investing in luxury property developments in Bali and Melbourne when in fact the purported developments did not exist.
During 2013 and 2017, he allegedly obtained a total of $1.6 million from his clients by advising them to withdraw money from their existing superannuation funds and deposit it into self-managed super funds that he set up.
He was the sole director of Skynet Financial Services from 2009 to 2019.
It is now understood the true figure obtained from clients’ superannuation and bank accounts could be as high as $10 million.
ASIC found Nugara falsely represented to investors that investing in these property developments would generate them significant returns.
According to Pentana Stanton Lawyers, who represented one of the victims, Nugara fled Australia in 2019 and spent the next three years living in Bali, Mexico City, and Costa Rica.
It is alleged he used client funds over several years for his own purposes, spending it on luxury overseas trips, race cars, boats, and helicopters.
He is also believed to have used the funds to pay off his own personal debts.
In October 2022, Nugara was arrested by Victorian Police upon arrival in Melbourne Airport and charged with 35 counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception.
He appeared in the County Court of Victoria on Tuesday 26 September 2023 and is expected to be sentenced by Judge Trevor Wraight on Thursday 5 October 2023.
Earlier this month, Mark Sebo, an adviser who stole over $1 million from his clients to fund a gambling addiction, received a jail sentence in Perth District Court.
According to WA Today, Sebo received a five-year prison sentence, which will be backdated so he will be eligible for parole after three years.
Sebo had pleaded not guilty to the accusations of making 36 transactions over a 10-day period in July 2019 from his clients’ self-managed superannuation funds. This was then transferred into his online accounts with BetEasy, CrownBet and Ladbrokes as well as his personal account
He was found guilty in June 2023 of 36 counts of stealing.
ASIC told Money Management that charges of stealing under the WA Criminal Code were brought by WA Police in this matter.
Surely this person should more correctly be described as a “former” financial adviser?