Following an ASIC investigation and a three-week trial, former financial adviser Ben Jayaweera, of Mount Gravatt East, Queensland, has been found guilty of six charges of dishonestly causing detriment to clients, involving approximately $5.9 million. Jayaweera has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment, with a minimum period of six years to be served before becoming eligible for parole.
ASIC alleged that between September 2013 to October 2015, Jayaweera, through his company Growth Plus Financial Group (in liquidation), induced various investors to transfer funds, including funds from their self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF), for investment into an unregistered managed investment scheme, known as the Australian Diversified Sector Income Fund (ADSIF). ASIC also alleged Jayaweera invested some clients’ superannuation funds into ADSIF without the clients’ knowledge or permission.
Jayaweera claimed ADSIF was a diversified fund investing in cash, property, shares, aquaculture and agriculture when, in fact, the only investment was a single project, an abalone farm in South Australia operated by entities under his control.
“The majority of Mr Jayaweera’s clients were near or at retirement age and suffered significant financial harm from Mr Jayaweera’s actions. Financial advisers are entrusted with other people’s money. ASIC takes breaches of trust very seriously,” ASIC commissioner Danielle Press said.
The abalone farm was subsequently wound up by receivers and the liquidators of Growth Plus advised there will be no returns available for ADSIF investors from Growth Plus.
In court today, Justice Richards stated: “It was a calculated and callous scheme of dishonesty.”
In sentencing Jayaweera, she considered that the offending involved a high level of planning, sophistication and persistence, observing that the investors had been robbed of their retirement and Jayaweera had committed a gross breach of trust.
The jury found Jayaweera guilty of each of the six counts of dishonestly causing a detriment to various clients who invested approximately $5.9 million, which were directed to company bank accounts to make payments to the abalone farm and other third parties.
The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions after a referral from ASIC.
ASIC’s investigation found that between September 2013 to October 2015, Jayaweera met with various clients based in Queensland. Jayaweera told his clients he would be able to provide them with an investment opportunity to build their wealth towards retirement.
In October 2016, ASIC commenced civil proceedings in the Supreme Court of Queensland against Growth Plus and Jayaweera. The civil proceedings have been adjourned until a date to be fixed.
In May 2018, Jayaweera was charged with the six counts of fraud involving approximately $5.9 million. ASIC also provided the liquidator of Growth Plus with funding from the Assetless Administration Fund (AAF) to prepare a supplementary report that was used to assist with the investigation.
Go Jay. You’ll never walk (ab)alone…
I had a heated conversation with Jay just before this all blew up. I told him he would go to jail for his Ponzi scheme and his reply was ‘I have been an adviser for many years and have never been in trouble with ASIC.’ and shrugged it off. He deserves ever bit of his sentence and far more than 12 years. If he gets out before then I will be really annoyed. He has ruined so many peoples lives and retirement that will last far longer than his sentence. What I get really annoyed about and don’t understand is how can he open an unregistered managed investment scheme and put heaps of naive and retail clients money in it without any checks from ASIC. To make matters worse he did something similar with a pearling operation prior to the abalone farm! Seems like the ASIC cops were asleep at the wheel. When stuff like this happens it reflects poorly on good financial advisers yet we can’t control who gets let into our profession. Hopefully we get some good leadership and cohesiveness from professional bodies, ASIC and politicians so we can weed out or even better stop people like this entering our profession in the first place.
Interesting point about the SMSF auditor.
this may well be how he was caught in the net.
This guy needed to be locked away and I wholeheartedly agree with the sentence, but…
Where is the consistency? The Health Services Union ex-boss Michael Williamson got to keep the $25mill he stole of members money without repaying a cent, and got out in 5 years!!! He’s happily living with his wife in his Sydney waterside mansion… Go figure!!!???!!!
Crime doesn’t pay, unless of course you’re a known criminal union mobster it seems.
[quote=Anonymous]No doubt this bloke deserves to be locked up.
ASIC – what about the Big Bank and AMP bosses that that have stolen BILLIONS of $$$$$. (Not Millions, BILLIONS)
[b]It was a calculated and callous scheme of dishonesty……… the offending involved a high level of planning, sophistication and persistence, observing that the investors had been robbed of their retirement and the Big Banks & AMP had committed a gross breach of trust.[/b][b][/b][i][/i][i][/i]
So what will ASIC do – allow these Big Insto Bosses to be sent into another high end role elsewhere or retirement, either way with giant Golden Parachutes of more $$$$.
ASIC – you really have and continue to let down the Adviser Industry and overall country. [/quote][quote=Anonymous]No doubt this bloke deserves to be locked up.
ASIC – what about the Big Bank and AMP bosses that that have stolen BILLIONS of $$$$$. (Not Millions, BILLIONS)
[b]It was a calculated and callous scheme of dishonesty……… the offending involved a high level of planning, sophistication and persistence, observing that the investors had been robbed of their retirement and the Big Banks & AMP had committed a gross breach of trust.[/b][b][/b][i][/i][i][/i]
So what will ASIC do – allow these Big Insto Bosses to be sent into another high end role elsewhere or retirement, either way with giant Golden Parachutes of more $$$$.
ASIC – you really have and continue to let down the Adviser Industry and overall country. [/quote]
Agree but don’t forget Union Super & Industry Funds are still rorting the system and stealing from members. $60mill over 10 years in transfers to union officials, AustralianSuper’s a lame investment with Industry Super Holdings that lost $700mill of members funds in one transaction with PacificHydro are just two off the top of my head.
I assisted one of this grub’s clients (as much as a could). Pro Bono of course. The only way he could pay me was by way of chocolates! This particular guy was like so many people who get court up with these crooks, very little concept and understanding of Financial Markets and Investments. Very sad.
NFAR – as a current adviser I am not nervous at all. I have (and never will) accidentally misappropriate funds, move client money into an unregistered unit trust, of any kind, let alone with investments into a single asset (abalone farm!!!!) nor move client money without their permission.
I agree with comments below. Lock him up as this person optimises the kind of adviser that has tainted our industry.
[quote=Anonymous]No doubt this bloke deserves to be locked up.
ASIC – what about the Big Bank and AMP bosses that that have stolen BILLIONS of $$$$$. (Not Millions, BILLIONS)
[b]It was a calculated and callous scheme of dishonesty……… the offending involved a high level of planning, sophistication and persistence, observing that the investors had been robbed of their retirement and the Big Banks & AMP had committed a gross breach of trust.[/b][b][/b][i][/i][i][/i]
So what will ASIC do – allow these Big Insto Bosses to be sent into another high end role elsewhere or retirement, either way with giant Golden Parachutes of more $$$$.
ASIC – you really have and continue to let down the Adviser Industry and overall country. [/quote]
Agree wholeheartedly…except CBA execs and the rest didn’t have to move. They all stay earning millions with no punishment at all. Probably got a pity bonus for going through the RC heartache…disgrace. How do we RISE against this? shareholders dont, because understandably they only care about dividends,…not ethics..
[quote=NFAR]All these imprisonments surely just make any ex-adviser nervous… In this case, fair enough. But in many cases, there are people who unknowingly make a mistake and their lives are ruined by public shame – Shame on IFA for continually publicly posting these people’s names.
Furthermore, why is the Auditor not up there with him? It is there job to annually review files, to ensure that the adviser upholds our proud standards.
This ongoing man-hunt is growing into a machine which is propelling forward… Very scary times ahead…
[/quote]
Oh boy…i did know there would be someone who could defend this guy and lame blamer on so many other parties…the auditor, the IFA, the media…so many mitigating circumstances…you should have been his lawyer, he might have got 20 years ahaha!
All these imprisonments surely just make any ex-adviser nervous… In this case, fair enough. But in many cases, there are people who unknowingly make a mistake and their lives are ruined by public shame – Shame on IFA for continually publicly posting these people’s names.
Furthermore, why is the Auditor not up there with him? It is there job to annually review files, to ensure that the adviser upholds our proud standards.
This ongoing man-hunt is growing into a machine which is propelling forward… Very scary times ahead…
Good lock the prick up, it’s people like home who give us a bad name.
No doubt this bloke deserves to be locked up.
ASIC – what about the Big Bank and AMP bosses that that have stolen BILLIONS of $$$$$. (Not Millions, BILLIONS)
[b]It was a calculated and callous scheme of dishonesty……… the offending involved a high level of planning, sophistication and persistence, observing that the investors had been robbed of their retirement and the Big Banks & AMP had committed a gross breach of trust.[/b][b][/b][i][/i][i][/i]
So what will ASIC do – allow these Big Insto Bosses to be sent into another high end role elsewhere or retirement, either way with giant Golden Parachutes of more $$$$.
ASIC – you really have and continue to let down the Adviser Industry and overall country.