Australian financial adviser allegedly stole $1 million due to gambling addiction
A Western Australian financial adviser stole nearly A$1 million ($675,800) from clients to feed his gambling addiction, prosecutors say. However, if you ask him, he is innocent and the courts will now decide who is telling the truth.
Mark Sebo was charged with 36 counts of stealing funds from eight clients in just ten days in the summer of 2019, The West Australian reports. Police arrested him that same year and his mother released him on bail of A$50,000 ($33,790).
The 41-year-old disgraced consultant is now back in court to face trial. Prosecutors believe they have the evidence they need to prove he wasted customers' money through online gambling sites.
Personal piggy bank
Seb is responsible for advising clients on their pension funds, which should not include investing in them like his own piggy bank. That's exactly what he allegedly did, with prosecutors claiming he transferred her money into his own personal and business accounts.
These transactions triggered notifications to customers, but it was too late. The money was nowhere to be found and Sebo told the victims they needed to lodge a complaint with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Sebo did not comment on the charges when he first appeared in court nearly four years ago. When he returned to court for a jury trial, he pleaded not guilty.
Although he clearly had no legal background, he decided to represent himself in the case. He has no time to review his defense as the trial begins on Tuesday.
If Sebo's story is to be believed, he was anything but an efficient player. Officially, almost no money has been recovered, although his bank account was reportedly frozen shortly after the complaint was made.
Sebo's driver's license was suspended as a result of the charges. However, au-financial-advisers.com, a website that lists licensed advisers in Australia, lists his license as valid. The website did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
Ten years in prison
Australian law provides for corruption to be punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment under section 157 of the Crimes Act, with the maximum penalty usually reserved for cases before the Magistrates' Court. Sebo's case is one of them.
If Annette Roberts is an example, Sebo is unlikely to receive the maximum sentence. From 2018 to 2020, she defrauded clients of the travel agency where she worked, stealing AUD$628,598 (US$424,806) across 522 transactions.
A travel agency owner has had to sell two personal properties and delay retirement to give back to his customers. When she appeared in court, Roberts was sentenced to just two years and eight months in prison.
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Source: www.casino.org
