Brisbane man sentenced on ASIC charge
A Brisbane man has been sentenced in the Brisbane District Court to 18 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to one charge of operating an unregistered managed investment scheme involving approximately 200 people.
Richard Stanley Harris of Burpengary, Brisbane, was released upon entering a $2,000 recognisance to be of good behaviour for 18 months, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The sentence follows an ASIC investigation into the promotion of an illegal managed investment scheme operated by Arafura Equities Pty Ltd (Arafura) from 2003 that involved the trading of funds on the foreign currency exchange.
The investigation found that Arafura and its promoters induced clients primarily located in south-east Queensland to invest money in the scheme between January 2003 and August 2005, ASIC said.
On sentencing, District Court judge Terry Martin took into account that Harris lost $70,000 of his own money, gained no benefit and is currently very ill with a limited life expectancy.
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