Queensland-based Melanie Miller has been sentenced to six months imprisonment for her involvement in an international investment scam which raised almost $7 million from Australian investors.
Upon entering into a recognisance in the sum of $2000 and condition that she be of good behaviour for a period of two years, Miller will be released immediately.
Following an ASIC investigation, Miller was charged with one count of providing financial advice without an Australian financial services licence under s911A of the Corporations Act.
Miller encouraged around 80 people to invest their money with her US-based former fiancé, Norman Hatchett, between December 2005 and December 2007.
ASIC’s investigation into her conduct specifically focused on eight investors to whom she provided unlicensed financial advice and promised returns of 20 per cent a month less a 4 per cent payment fee. These investors subsequently invested around $400,000.
Miller came to ASIC’s attention after Hatchett was unable to pay a number of investors their capital, claiming their money had been frozen by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In December 2009, Hatchett was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment for his involvement.
Meanwhile, a mortgage broker sentence has been upheld, with a Victorian Court dismissing the appeal against sentence by Michael Cay, who is serving four years imprisonment following his conviction in December 2008 as result of an investigation by ASIC.
Cay, who operated finance and mortgage broking firm Jewel Financial Services – which is now in liquidation – previously pleaded guilty to four counts of obtaining property by deception and one count of obtaining a financial advantage by deception.
Cay admitted that he deceived several investors of more than $475,000 to invest with Jewel, telling investors that the loans would be secured either against the borrowers’ property, or property owned by Jewel, or that their money would be invested in a trust account, which did not occur.
