The former chief executive of Sonray Capital Markets has been sentenced to jail for five years.
Scott Kenneth Murray of Werribee, Victoria, had earlier pleaded guilty in the Victorian Supreme Court to six charges of false accounting involving fictitious deposits totalling $36.4 million and USD $9.9 million as well as false withdrawals totalling $7.8 million.
Murray also pleaded guilty to two charges of theft totalling $2.3 million, one charge of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, and one charge of misleading an auditor concerning a capital injection of $5.2 million.
Murray will serve a minimum of 2 years and 6 months before he is eligible for parole.
The sentence takes into account his early guilty plea and the cooperation given in this matter.
Commenting on the sentence, ASIC chair Greg Medcraft said Murray’s actions had compromised the investments of Sonray’s clients and impacted on confidence in the market more broadly.
“The jail sentence handed down today acknowledges the seriousness of Mr Murray’s conduct, even taking into account his cooperation,” Medcraft said.
“Investors participating in the financial markets are entitled to expect that their money will be handled responsibly and honestly. ASIC will act to ensure that anyone who acts in a way that causes a market participant to breach this trust, causing financial losses to investors, is brought to account.”
The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Sonray was placed into liquidation in October last year.
