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A former pre-insolvency adviser has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to money laundering.
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Money laundering pre-insolvency adviser gets 5 years in jail
02 March 2020
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Stephen O’Neill of SMEs R Us has been sentenced to five years in prison with a non-parole period of 22 months for one charge of dealing in the proceeds of crime.
Mr O’Neill pleaded guilty to the charge in October last year.
Fellow pre-insolvency adviser John Narramore was sentenced to four and a half years in prison with a non-parole period of 20 months for the same charge in November last year.
An ASIC investigation found that, in 2014, both Mr O’Neill and Mr Narramore advised former Cap Coast Telecoms director Richard Ludwig to illegally remove company assets to prevent creditors from accessing them.
The former advisers then issued fictitious invoices from companies under their control to Cap Coast Telecoms.
The invoices arranged for $743,050 to be transferred to bank accounts of companies under the control of Mr O’Neill and Mr Narramore, who then transferred the funds to Mr Ludwig and his associates.
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After the funds were transferred, Cap Coast Telecoms was wound up in liquidation in January 2015, owing creditors a total of $2,955,138.
Judge Rosengren of the Brisbane District Court found that Mr O’Neill carried out his offences for financial gain.
Mr O’Neill was also found to have understood the criminality of his actions and that the transactions were made to defeat creditor interests and undermine the liquidator.
ASIC commissioner John Price emphasised the regulator’s commitment to ensuring creditors have access to company assets during insolvency proceedings.
“Companies in financial distress trust advisers to provide sound and ethical advice,” Mr Price said.
“This outcome demonstrates that when pre-insolvency advisers provide illegal advice and facilitate illegal conduct, ASIC will act and the culprits will be jailed.”
Mr Ludwig was charged with one count of intentionally dealing in the proceeds of crime and 10 counts of breaching his director duties.
He appeared in the Brisbane District Court on 26 February 2020 for a plea hearing.
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