In a public statement, ASIC stated that former financial adviser Gabriel Nakhl has been convicted in the District Court of New South Wales on 8 June 2018 on eight charges brought by ASIC of engaging in dishonest conduct with investor funds.
Mr Nakhl, of Illawong, NSW, pleaded guilty to being knowingly engaged in dishonest conduct in relation to 12 investors, ASIC said.
ASIC stated the conduct occurred between March 2009 and March 2011 when Mr Nakhl was an authorised representative of Australian Financial Services Limited, now in liquidation, and from about March 2011 to about September 2013 when he was the sole director of SydFA Pty Ltd, now in liquidation.
In November 2013, ASIC accepted an enforceable undertaking from Mr Nakhl after it identified concerns that Mr Nakhl gave unauthorised financial product advice and gave financial product advice without a reasonable basis.
The investigation also found that Mr Nakhl made false and misleading statements and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct, including making statements about the returns clients could expect and the risks of the investments he promoted.
“Specifically, Mr Nakhl advised some clients, including those in self-managed superannuation funds, to advance money to him so that he could invest it in a high-interest rate account on their behalf and pay them a fixed return,” ASIC said in an earlier statement.
“ASIC is concerned Mr Nakhl instead spent the money, among other things, on his private sports car and motorbike hire business and himself.”
ASIC deputy chairman Peter Kell said Mr Nakhl “breached the trust many investors placed in him”.
“Setting up an SMSF is one of the most significant steps an investor can take, and where an individual or company’s conduct unlawfully puts that investment at risk, ASIC will take action.”
He will be sentenced in March next year
How much prison time did Mr Nakhl receive for his dishonest dealings and thefts?
About time the spotlight was turned to Accountants, who permit early access to SMSF fund by clients then fudge the minutes to cover it up. Example the son of an accountant takes $286,000 out of his SMSF age circa 45, a pilot so he could complete his luxury home renovations, dad the accountant, said it was just a mistake, mum put the money into the sons SMSF to balance the ledger, problem was this happen 5 years apart so the audit was deliberately changed to cover this up. Secon example: SMSF Trustee take $110,000 out of SMSF to “spend” auditor deliberately fudged the minutes on the orders of the accountant because this was missed by the accountant, the accountant paid the $110,000 into the clients SMSF to avoid a legal battle. and so it goes on
I am not sure where you have sourced your examples. Certainly not anything I have seen in providing 25 years of SMSF administration services – true independence between accountant/ administrator and auditor is the key.
So we have an article highlighting criminal behaviour by a financial planner and a rant about some unidentified accountant and auditors. Seems like deflection to me.
Have you any proof of your allegations?
Hi George, as one of SMSF clients that did my homework into the company before I invested over 1.2 million, who at the time had no previous red flags, and believed when I stated that I wanted my capitol protected that it would be. I find your comment rather offensive.
… and still breath…
looks like a good result for the regulator
Thanks for the good laugh: a great way to start the day. I can’t decide who is more gullible, ASIC or the SMSF clients. Is ASIC serious about an “undertaking”? Does a leopard ever change its spots? A crook will always be a crook. The crook would have laughed at ASIC and the undertaking he gave. Not worth the paper it was written on. And as for the SMSF people giving money to the bloke? it defies belief. Can anyone be so monumentally, industrial strength, dumb?