ASIC has banned an InterPrac Financial Planning adviser for fraudulently presenting Statements of Advice in the name of other advisers.
ASIC announced on Monday that InterPrac authorised representative Nicholas Hogan has been banned from the financial services industry for four years for failing to act in the best interests of clients, inappropriate advice and misleading, deceptive and unprofessional conduct.
The regulator found the Victorian-based adviser engaged in misleading, deceptive and unprofessional conduct by impersonating other advisers, knowingly having Statements of Advice prepared by others in his name, and presenting SOAs in the name of other advisers to clients of Venture Egg and Reilly Financial with limited interaction between himself and the clients.
The announcement didn’t explicitly state Hogan was banned for moving clients into Shield and First Guardian, and Professional Planner understands the infringements don’t specifically cover those funds.
But the revelation from ASIC comes after an investigation by Professional Planner revealed last year the regulator was aware that Shield and First Guardian-linked SOAs from InterPrac may have been fraudulently signed by the firms involved.
The investigation revealed one victim of the collapsed schemes never spoke to or met with the adviser whose personal and business name is listed on the SOA provided to her, which recommended she invest in a First Guardian fund.
Sydney-based executive assistant Ardelia Subrata said she was connected to a financial adviser after using online comparison site Aus Super Compare, but despite that SOA being signed by Rhys Reilly from Reilly Financial, she conceded she had never spoken to him in person, over the phone or via video link.
ASIC said Hogan gave advice to four clients to switch their superannuation funds using an advice process that outsourced key parts of the advice process, including the fact find and risk profile assessment to an unlicensed third-party referral partner.
ASIC found that Hogan gave predetermined advice outcomes based on a template SOA which recommended clients switch their existing superannuation funds to Netwealth and retain a standard sum of $10,000 in each of the existing superannuation funds for insurance purposes.
The banning order took effect from 18 December 2025, but Hogan applied to the Administrative Review Tribunal for a review of the decision as well as a confidentiality order pending the outcome of the review. Hogan later withdrew his application.
Hogan commenced his professional year training in February 2022 under the supervision of Ferras Merhi and Venture Egg.
Hogan became an authorised representative of InterPrac Financial Planning under the corporate authorised representative of Venture Egg on 2 September 2022. On 3 March 2023 he moved to the corporate authorised representative, Reilly Financial.
The Federal Court ordered Venture Egg and United Financial Advice, both firms run by Ferras Merhi, be wound up last week.
Merhi, who was licensed by InterPrac Financial Planning as an authorised representative of Venture Egg, also ran Financial Services Group Australia which was self-licensed (since cancelled by ASIC). InterPrac had ceased authorising Merhi in May 2025.
InterPrac is being sued by ASIC for due diligence failures relating to Merhi and Reilly for their distribution of the Shield and First Guardian funds, but last week parent company Sequoia Financial Group sold the struggling licensee to little-known Conquest Investment Partners for $50,000.
ASIC has alleged Merhi signed 6000 Statements of Advice within a three-year period and used marketing companies to push potential clients to his financial advice businesses while receiving nearly $18 million in upfront advice fees and $19 million from entities associated with the funds to market them.
The regulator also alleged that Merhi falsely represented that he had no vested interest in recommending the funds.
Investments in Shield and First Guardian grew due to a sophisticated network of lead generators that contacted people who used online “superannuation health check” advertisements and used high-pressure sales tactics to refer them to financial advisers.
ASIC acted against the Shield and First Guardian funds over concerns investor money was being misused on high-risk investments, pet projects of directors and personal expenses, and court proceedings against both funds are ongoing.
Australian Financial Complaints Authority’s lead determination for Financial Services Group Australia found the advice given to clients relied on information gathered by lead generation services and didn’t appear to involve any direct communication between the adviser who signed the Statement of Advice.
The fallout of the collapse has led to the development of new consumer protections which were announced last year, pushing advice reform down to list of ministerial priorities.
