The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has charged a financial adviser with a range of offences after he allegedly provided inappropriate advice to five investors.
Kevin Maxwell George Whitting, of Rosebud, Victoria, appeared in the Dromana Magistrates Court last week charged with 10 offences following an ASIC investigation.
The regulator alleges the former financial adviser provided inappropriate advice to five investors who collectively invested over $684,000 in the Blue Diamond Deposits Trust No. 1 (BDT) between September 2008 and January 2009.
Whitting faces a further five charges of providing false and misleading statements to three of the five investors.
At the time of the offences, he was an authorised representative of Kedesco Pty Ltd, an Australian financial services licensee, and was employed by Shelbourne Financial Services Pty Ltd, which operated a financial services practice out of Mornington, Victoria.
Court date pending
ASIC’s investigation commenced after the collapse of BDT, a managed investment scheme, in 2010. Traditional Values Management Ltd (TVM) – now in liquidation – was the responsible entity for BDT.
On December 17, 2009, Geoff Handberg and Brent Morgan of Rogers Reidy Chartered Accountants were appointed as voluntary administrators to TVM. At the time of this appointment it was reported to creditors that BDT had a net deficiency of $22 million.
TVM was placed into liquidation on February 3 2010.
Whitting was not required to enter a plea and will appear again in the Dromana Magistrates Court on June 13.
The Commonwealth director of public prosecutions is prosecuting the matter.
In related news, ASIC has suspended the Australian financial services licence of LM Investment Management Ltd for two years.
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