Trevor William Martin, a former financial advisor, pled guilty today in the District Court of New South Wales to three counts of dishonestly obtaining clients' funds in contravention of the Crimes Act.

An investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission found that between 1 June 2011 and April 2015 he dishonestly obtained approximately A$208,000 (US$146,000) from clients, by:

• advising clients of investment opportunities;
• telling clients that he would invest monies on their behalf;
• inducing clients to transfer money to his business account;
• not investing the monies as represented; and
• using the money for his own personal expenses and other purposes.

Martin was an authorised representative of The Salisbury Group and later, Charter Financial Planning Limited, which is owned by AMP.

Sentencing for the matter has been listed for 16 August 2019 in the District Court of NSW. The Court imposed several bail conditions on Mr Martin, including the surrender of his passport. The charge of dishonestly obtaining property by deception carries a maximum penalty of ten years' imprisonment.