Nicholas James Ellis, an accountant and former financial adviser, has been sentenced to three years imprisonment for making false or misleading statements to obtain money from clients and fraudulent misappropriation of client funds.
Formerly operating out of Valentine, NSW, he would be served by way of an Intensive Corrections Order (ICO), which would involve 12 months of home detention and 700 hours of community service.
An Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) investigation found he had sent 10 letters and an email to clients for the purpose of raising funds to purchase a hotel in Tura, NSW, through his company Tura Pty Limited.
Ellis pled guilty to the new two charges on 4 August, 2017 and admitted to fraudulently misappropriating approximately $562,000 of client funds, some of which he had used to buy a house in Manly.
Danielle Press, ASIC commissioner, said Ellis was a trusted financial adviser who misled clients for his own benefit.
“As demonstrated in this case, ASIC is prepared to take criminal action where trusted advisers misappropriate clients’ money,” Press said.
Ellis would return to court on 17 October, 2019 to determine his suitability for home detention.
