Former motivational speaker Christopher Koch has been re-sentenced following an appeal against his conviction and sentencing in 2010 for deceiving investors through a fake investment scheme.
Following the appeal, Koch’s total effective jail sentence was reduced to nine years and 10 months with a non-parole period of seven years and six months. He was originally sentenced in 2010 to 13 years and two months in jail with a minimum of 10 years.
He was found guilty in 2010 of 15 counts of obtaining property by deception, seven counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception totalling $1.152 million and one count of making available a prescribed interest scheme totalling $1.742 million.
In 1996, Koch promoted a fake international high-yield investment strategy where investors were told they would earn between 50 per cent to 150 per cent return in periods as short as 90 days. He sold the scheme for four years, earning $1.742 million from 11 people.
The investigation by the corporate regulator, which began in 2001, involved the extradition of Koch to Australia when he left for New Zealand in early 2004. He was finally extradited to Australia in 2007.
The Court of Appeal dismissed Koch’s appeal against conviction on the 15 counts of obtaining property by deception and seven counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception.
However, the court ruled that the count relating to making available a prescribed interest scheme was duplicitous, and the evidence at trial could not maintain a conviction on that count. The court ruled the conviction be set aside and a verdict of acquittal entered.
“As a consequence of the quashing of the conviction and sentence relating to making available a prescribed interest scheme, it was necessary for the court to re-sentence Mr Koch on the counts relating to obtaining property by deception and obtaining a financial advantage by deception,” ASIC said.
“The court noted the need for consistency in sentencing and ruled that the total effective sentence and non-parole period originally imposed on Mr Koch were outside the available range.”
