iscover 
The developer, Ian Omar Chester, was sentenced in the Southport District Court on 29 September, following an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) into multiple property development companies in south-east Queensland.
He will be eligible to apply for parole after serving three years.
ASIC said Chester dishonestly applied investor funds to his own use or for the use of others, including by falsifying investor authorities to secure the release of money.
Some of the funds were paid into accounts in his name, while others were used to meet debts he had personally incurred, despite his knowledge that the money had been invested for specific purposes.
The investigation concerned approximately 18 companies of which Chester was the sole director. The companies were used as investment and development vehicles across five property projects, which raised funds from 190 investors.
Many of those investors used money from their self-managed super funds to invest in the projects, ASIC said.
The court also heard that Chester knew land associated with one development had been sold to an unrelated party but caused an investor to receive information stating the project was on track. The investor subsequently invested in the project.
ASIC chair Sarah Court said investors had entrusted Chester with millions of dollars for property development projects but substantial funds had been diverted from the purposes represented to them.
“This outcome demonstrates ASIC’s commitment to holding directors and company officers accountable for misusing investor funds and ensuring they face serious criminal consequences,” Court said.
Investors suffered ‘real harm’
In handing down the sentence, Judge Prskalo KC referred to the impact on investors, noting they had worked hard to save money they had now lost.
Having considered 17 victim impact statements, the judge accepted that investors had suffered “real harm” and described the offending as “sustained and deliberate dishonesty”.
The judge also said that “paying funds to creditors of other projects is as good as paying yourself”.
[Related: Lender pays $19,800 over ‘no credit check loans’ claim]
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?Make Broker Daily a preferred news source on Google.
