A former Sydney financial adviser has been formally charged in the Local Court of New South Wales with 19 counts of engaging in dishonest conduct with SMSF funds.
ASIC, which brought the charges, alleged Gabriel Nakhl, of Illawong in Sydney’s south, knowingly engaged in dishonest conduct in relation to 12 investors by misleading them about the investments he would make on their behalf and on behalf of their SMSFs, including how he would invest their money and the risks and returns of the investments he recommended.
The corporate regulator alleged Nakhl also used money provided to him by investors, including money from investors’ SMSFs, for purposes other than those he said he would use it for, he told investors their investments were performing well when that was not the case and he attempted to cover up and conceal his wrongdoing.
The alleged conduct occurred between March 2009 and March 2011 while Nakhl was an authorised representative of Australian Financial Services Limited, now in liquidation, and from about March 2011 to about September 2013 while he was the sole director of SydFA, also in liquidation.
The charges were brought against Nakhl following an ASIC investigation.
He did not enter a plea, but asked for an adjournment to obtain legal advice.
The matter was stood over until 11 October 2016.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is prosecuting the matter.
