NSW adviser given three-year sentence

In a statement, ASIC said Kiama-based adviser Trevor Martin had been sentenced for three charges under the Crimes Act 1900 on 20 March, after he was found to have obtained $208,000 of client funds dishonestly.

Martin, a former representative of AMP-owned Charter Financial Planning, was ordered to complete 750 hours of community service as part of the corrections order.

ASIC said Martin had committed the offences between 2011 and 2015, and pleaded guilty to three charges that carried sentences of two years and three months, 18 months and nine months, respectively, however the District Court of NSW ordered he be able to serve the sentences concurrently, and that given the "subjective features" in the case, he was suitable for a corrections order.

The corporate regulator said Martin had been "a trusted adviser" who convinced his clients to transfer funds to his business account, which he then used for his own personal expenses.

ASIC commissioner Danielle Press said Martin's sentence "shows the court's approach to deterring dishonest acts such as these".

Martin, who had also been an authorised representative of The Salisbury Group, was banned from financial services in 2018.