Finally, some good news. Yesterday, Shawn Richard, the investment manager and face of Astarra Funds Management pleaded guilty to taking more than $6.4million in undisclosed payments for his role in the scheme that saw more than $120million of Mum and Dad investor's money go missing.
Richard also entered into an enforceable undertaking with ASIC banning him for life from providing financial services.
Richard could be jailed up to 10 years.
This is good news for investors and the industry generally. Some 12 months after ASIC first implemented a stop order on Astarra Funds Management it seems justice prevails.
Read the full story here
My question, however, is, when will the Dealer Groups face the firing squad? There has been talk that ASIC has conducted extensive investigations into the handful of Dealers who only recommended Astarra products to their clients. Richard indeed admitted to secret loans made to these Dealers from 2007 to 2009. None of these loans were disclosed to clients.
Let's hope ASIC works quickly to take action against these parties. Afterall, these are the interface between the client and the product, and whilst the Dealer Group's pockets were being filled with commissions and loans, the investor's money was slowly being transferred offshore to fill the pockets of fraudsters and criminals.
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