The Federal Court has ordered a Gold Coast accountant to write to more than 100 SMSF clients informing them she is unable to provide financial services until February 2022 as a result of a court enforceable undertaking (CEU) she previously entered into with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The court ordered that Jenan Oslem Thorne (also known as Cenan Thorne or Cenan Dikmen) of Saber Superannuation write to her clients within five days of the order being made on 11 March 2021 informing them of the CEU and a press release first issued by ASIC in February 2019 regarding the matter.
Thorne was also ordered to report to the regulator within 20 days as to whether she had written to each client as required and what efforts had been made to contact clients who had moved.
The court made the order after Thorne failed to comply with the terms of the CEU she first entered into with ASIC on 13 February 2019 after an investigation by the regulator found she failed to act in her clients’ best interests and prioritised her own interests above those of her clients by receiving referrals from a property group in relation to establishing SMSFs.
During the time covered by ASIC’s investigation, April 2014 to December 2017, Thorne was an authorised representative of Australian financial services licensee SMSF Advice and her letter to 103 clients listed in the court order must include all the names she is known by, her authorised representative number and contact details for SMSF Advice so clients can make inquiries or complaints regarding the CEU and her conduct as an authorised representative.
In November 2020, ASIC commenced civil proceedings against Thorne, alleging she took deliberate steps to avoid compliance with the CEU, including sending letters without all the relevant information required under the CEU and signing the letters as Cenan Dikmen instead of Jenan Thorne, which was the name she used professionally with clients.
The court also ordered that Thorne pay $16,529.78 for ASIC’s costs of the proceeding.
