R v Iervasi (Sentence) [2024] NSWSC 1116

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Iervasi (Sentence) [2024] NSWSC 1116 Hearing dates: 31 July 2024 Date of orders: 02 September 2024 Decision date: 02 September 2024 Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal Before: Sweeney J Decision: 1. I impose an aggregate sentence of 11 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 7 years imprisonment to date from 3 May 2024. Catchwords: CRIME — Sentencing— Federal offences — Corporations Act — "Ponzi scheme" Legislation Cited: Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) Cases Cited: Giourtalis v R [2013] NSWCCA 216 Melville v R [2023] NSWCCA 284 R v Daetz; R v Wilson [2003] NSWCCA 216 R v Todd (1982) 2 NSWLR 517 Scook v R [2008] WASCA 114 Weber v R [2020] NSWCCA 103 Texts Cited: Nil Category: Principal judgment Parties: Rex (Crown) Antonio Iervasi (Offender) Representation: Counsel: S Callan SC with D New (Crown) E Kerkysharian with M Baroni

Solicitors: Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown) Ozlaw (Offender) File Number(s): 2021/317044 Publication restriction: Nil

JUDGMENT 1. Antonio (Tony) Iervasi appears for sentence for five offences to which he pleaded guilty in the Local Court. They are four offences contrary to ss1311 and 1041G of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), of dishonest conduct in relation to a financial product, which each have a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, and one offence contrary to ss 1311 and 911A of the Corporations Act, of carrying on an unlicensed financial services business, with a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment. 2. The offences contrary to ss 1311 and 1041G of the Act were that in particular date ranges, in the course of carrying on a financial services business, Mr Iervasi engaged in dishonest conduct in relation to a financial product or financial service, being that he represented to each investor that the returns they received were profits from trading when in fact they were not, and the returns paid to investors were derived from capital deposited by new investors. The time periods of the offending were: in sequence 1, between 13 December 2010 and 30 June 2014; in sequence 5, 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015; in sequence 6, 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016; and in sequence 7, 1 July 2016 to 21 April 2017. 3. The offence contrary to ss 1311 and 911A was that between 1 October 2010 and 21 April 2017 the offender carried on an unlicensed financial services business in this jurisdiction. 4. There were two charges to be dealt with on a s 16BA schedule, being matters in respect of which Mr Iervasi admitted his guilt and asked that they be taken into account when he is sentenced for the offence in sequence 7. They were, in sequence 8, that between 1 November 2016 and 30 December 2016, in the course of carrying on a financial services business, the offender engaged in dishonest conduct in relation to a financial product or financial service, being that he represented to each investor that the capital invested in his companies for the "US Election Special Trade" would be traded on Forex and Futures markets around the time of the 2016 USA presidential election, and that the capital invested for the US Election Special Trade had been so traded, whereas none of the capital deposited by investors for the US Election Special Trade was traded by the offender. The offence in sequence 9 charged the offender that between 1 December 2016 and 30 January 2017 he did, in the course of carrying on a financial services business, engage in dishonest conduct in relation to a financial product or financial service, being that he represented to each investor that the capital invested in his companies for the US President Inauguration Special Trade would be traded on Forex and Futures markets around the time of the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, and that the capital invested for the US President Inauguration Special Trade had been so traded at around that time, whereas none of the capital deposited by investors for that special trade was so traded by the offender.