04-362 Melbourne man jailed over Nigerian investment scam
Thursday 4 November 2004
The Acting Chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Mr Jeremy Cooper, today noted the jail sentence imposed on a Melbourne man who was engaged in a 'Nigerian investment scam'.
Mr Robert Andrew Street, a former financial adviser, was sentenced to five years and three months jail, with a non-parole period of four years, in the Victorian County Court. Mr Street pleaded guilty to five charges of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, involving over $1 million of investors' money between September 2001 and August 2002.
The jailing of Mr Street follows an ASIC investigation which revealed that between September 2001 and August 2002, Mr Street had deceived some of his clients by telling them he needed funding to complete a number of investment projects he was developing. These included an electronic system of tracking stolen cars and a bank scheme to reduce mortgage repayments. Mr Street had promised his clients that investments in his projects would be risk free and would provide good returns in a short time. As a result, the clients gave Mr Street a total of $1,039,910.
Mr Street had actually been involved in a 'Nigerian Scam' where he had been led to believe that a person purporting to be a representative of a Nigerian government committee had offered to transfer US$65 million to Mr Street, upon payment of certain up-front fees.
Mr Street transferred the majority of the clients' funds to various overseas destinations, believing it would be used to pay the up-front fees, after which time he would receive US$65 million. Mr Street also used $10,000 of the clients' funds to buy a number of mobile telephones which he arranged to be delivered to an address in Nigeria.
ASIC had previously obtained orders in the Federal Court, appointing liquidators to Mr Street's companies. ASIC has also accepted an enforceable undertaking from Mr Street permanently excluding him from the financial services industry.
'Advisers who deceive clients about the nature and risk of investments must be brought to justice. The jailing of Mr Street should act as a warning to other financial advisers about their duties and responsibilities', Mr Cooper said.
'ASIC will continue to pursue those who undermine the integrity of the financial services industry and abuse the trust of their clients', Mr Cooper added.
ASIC Website: Printed 01/06/2009
