ASIC moves against operators
IN THE first week of January, ASIC has banned one financial adviser for a year and another two investment advisers for life, reconfirming its commitment in 2002 to protecting the public and removing improper operators from the financial services industry.
The most recent action taken by ASIC was against Wayne Clifford McNamara of Rostrevor, South Australia, who was banned from giving investment advice or carrying on a securities business for life, despite already being sentenced.
ASIC was alerted to McNamara’s suspect business activities by MLC, formerly McNamara’s licensed securities dealer.
McNamara pleaded guilty to 12 charges of defrauding a client of valuable securities worth $65,083 and one charge of fraudulently converting a cheque of $10,375 that belonged to another client for his own personal use.
While he was sentenced with a two-year imprisonment with a non-parole period of 10 months, McNamara served only one month before being released on bail pending an appeal.
In November last year, McNamara’s appeal was granted and while he was re-sentenced, it was suspended on condition he enter into a bond of $1,000, be of good behaviour for 2 years and submit to home detention for a period of eight months from the date of entering the bond.
Also banned for life is former Saxby Bridge Financial Planning adviser Michael Hok Chung Lam, charged with misappropriating $140,000 from Saxby Bridge clients.
Saxby Bridge cancelled Lam’s proper authority in February 2000 and he has since been imprisoned for a minimum of two-and-a-half years on serious fraud offences.
Meanwhile, former Tower Australia agent and representative of investment adviser Deakin Financial Planning, John Moroney, has been banned for one year by ASIC who found the adviser had not and would not perform efficiently, honestly and fairly the duties of a securities representative in the future.
ASIC found Moroney breached his fiduciary duty to a client, did not have an appropriate level of understanding of his responsibilities to his employer or to his clients in situations where a conflict of interest could arise, and breached the Deakin Financial Planning compliance manual by acting as a client’s attorney without authorisation.
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