Former Courtenay House director sentenced

Former Courtenay House director Tony Iervasi has been sentenced to prison for 11 years, with a non-parole period of seven years, for his involvement in one of the nation's biggest Ponzi schemes.

Between 13 December 2010 and 21 April 2017, Iervasi raised around $180 million from about 580 investors, promising high returns from futures and FX trading; much of the money was used to fund his lifestyle, with just 3% of the funds actually traded, ASIC said.

Iervasi was the sole director of the business throughout the period and was charged in December 2021 for fraud offences.

The total net loss to victims is estimated to be about $54 million.

He pleaded guilty to the following charges in November 2022:

• Four offences of engaging in dishonest conduct in relation to a financial product or financial service contrary to s1041G Corporations Act 2001 (Cth);
• An offence of carrying on an unlicensed financial services business contrary to s 911A Corporations Act 2001 (Cth); and
• Two further charges in relation to the s1041G offence.

Commenting, ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said: "ASIC pursued this matter as part of our commitment to protect investors. Mr Iervasi's actions betrayed the trust of his clients and inflicted damage on hundreds of people. Today's sentence demonstrates that such deliberate fraudulent activities will not be tolerated."

The Supreme Court of NSW made interim orders on 1 May 2017 under an ASIC application against Courtenay House Trading Group, which includes entities of Courtenay House, Proactive Property Services, Sipina Enterprises and TheNowGroup.com.au.

The Courtenay House companies appointed liquidators on 16 May 2017 and have since distributed dividends of $0.28 in the dollar.

The liquidation process is ongoing.