Former Wickham Securities CEO pleads guilty
The former chief executive of collapsed debenture company, Wickham Securities, has pleaded guilty to various charges laid against him by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), including fraud.
Queensland's Garth Peter Robertson appeared in Brisbane District Court and pleaded guilty to:
- Ten counts of dishonestly attaining property worth $761,504 from Wickham Securities between December 2010 and November 2012;
- One count of dishonestly attaining $15,000 from Balmain NB Corporation Limited in November 2010;
- Nine counts of giving or allowing others to give false information about Wickham Securities to its trustee, Sandhurst Trustees in 2012; and
- One count of falsifying books on the affairs of Wickham Securities in 2012.
Robertson was due to face sentencing on 1 September, with his conditional bail extended until then.
It came after ASIC permanently banned former Wickham Securities' chairman, Bradley Thomas Sherwin, from providing financial services.
Wickham Securities was first placed into administration in December 2012 and liquidation in February 2013, with PPB Advisory acting as liquidators.
Sandhurst Trustees faced a class action worth $27 million after its appeal to prevent the handing over of documents was rejected. The documents potentially showed it failed in its obligations to investors.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions would prosecute the matter of Robertson.
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