The County Court of Victoria has convicted and sentenced Mr Barry Patrick to 6 years and 3 months imprisonment, after he pleaded guilty to six charges following an ASIC investigation.  Mr Patrick, 73, of Sunbury, Victoria, will be eligible for parole after serving 3 years and 9 months.

Mr Patrick pleaded guilty to:

• 3 charges of obtaining property by deception,
• 2 charges of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, and
• 1 charge of carrying on a financial services business without a license.  

Mr Patrick nominated investors to be directors of a number of companies formed to purchase properties on the outskirts of Melbourne for development. Those companies were Wrestway Property Development Pty Ltd, Exclusive Property Consultants Pty Ltd, Compendium Holdings Pty Ltd and Integrated Consolidated Holdings Pty Ltd.

To obtain funds for the property development projects, Mr Patrick persuaded investors to refinance their homes and/or establish self-managed superannuation funds (SMSF) and then invest their superannuation in the developments.

Between 2007 and 2010, Mr Patrick illegally obtained more than $600,000 from 14 retail investors to fund the property developments because of financial advice provided by him when he was not authorised to do so. 

The funds raised by Mr Patrick were not used to develop the properties but were instead used to pay interest payments to past and existing investors and to meet repayments on loans, as well as his own personal use such as artwork and jewellery.

In sentencing Mr Patrick, His Honour Judge Gavan Meredith noted that Mr. Patrick had shown little remorse for leaving his victims lives in ruin and that the offending was protracted, calculated and at times brazen.

Commissioner Peter Kell welcomed the County Court sentencing. "The conduct of Mr Patrick exposed vulnerable members of the community to severe financial loss and hardship. ASIC will not hesitate to prosecute this type of deceptive and harmful conduct."

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions prosecuted the matter.

Background

Mr Patrick was charged in July 2014 (14-166 MR) and pleaded guilty in July 2016 (16-138MR)

Mr Patrick had previously been convicted of operating a financial services business without a licence (10-257AD) as well as failing to keep proper books and records as a director of companies that went into liquidation (10-55AD).