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Court imposes conditional release on ex-practice director

The Parramatta Local Court of NSW has imposed a conditional release on a former director of a Sydney financial planning practice.

Wael Kourieh, who pleaded guilty to one count of making false documents and one count of using false documents last month, has been granted a conditional release for a two-year period with the magistrate taking into account “Mr Kourieh’s remorse and cooperation with the investigation when handing down her decision”.

Mr Kourieh was a director of Nexus Financial Planning Pty Ltd from 8 June 2010 until 14 March 2016.

ASIC previously claimed that Nexus purchased a client book for AMP superannuation product, SuperLeader, and received commissions from AMP in relation to each member in the client book. It’s understood Mr Kourieh was responsible for “generating new business and administering the SuperLeader client book”.

ASIC alleges that between September and November 2015, Mr Kourieh “made false documents by forging 30 member signatures on AMP superannuation investment election forms with the intention of inducing AMP employees to accept them as genuine to obtain a financial advantage, namely commissions from AMP” and “used false documents... knowing them to be false, intending they be used to induce AMP employees to accept them as genuine, to obtain a financial advantage, namely commissions from AMP”.

The corporate regulator claimed that Mr Kourieh’s conduct was intended to obtain a financial advantage for himself via commissions from AMP.