Former finance director Brendan Gunn of Brisbane, has pleaded guilty to dealing with more than $180,000 when it was reasonable to suspect that those funds were the proceeds of crime, derived from suspected international scams that targeted Australian investors.

At the time of offending, Mr Gunn was a director of Mormarkets Pty Ltd (Mormarkets), a company that accepted deposits from Australians for cryptocurrency and other supposed investment opportunities. While Mormarkets’ bank accounts were in operation, Mr Gunn was repeatedly notified of suspicious activity or reports of fraud, with the accounts progressively closed.

On the closure of two Mormarkets bank accounts, between March 2020 and May 2020 Mr Gunn received two bank cheques which included proceeds of investment amounts totalling $181,000. Mr Gunn admitted that he then dealt with the bank cheques by sending them to an associate.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth)(CDPP) and Mr Gunn consented to the matter being dealt with for sentence in the local court. Mr Gunn faces a maximum penalty in the Local Court of one year imprisonment, a fine of $12,600, or both.

The matter is next listed in the Downing Centre Local Court on 10 February 2026 for mention to obtain a sentencing date.  

This matter is being prosecuted by the CDPP following an investigation and referral from ASIC.

Background

Moneysmart provides detailed information on investment scams and how they work, including impostor bond scams, superannuation scams, and cryptocurrency scams. ASIC also publishes investment scam warnings.