Max Kiattisak Eung, of Tempe, New South Wales, has been sentenced in the District Court of NSW today to three years imprisonment to be served by way of an intensive corrections order for two offences of obtaining financial advantage by deception of $166,500.
In June 2018, ASIC permanently banned Mr Eung from providing financial services and engaging in credit activities (18-168MR).
Between March 2016 and December 2016, Mr Eung dishonestly obtained a financial advantage of $166,500 from accounts held with MLC Limited and Nulis Nominees (Australia) Limited. The account holders who were his clients did not authorise withdrawal of those funds from their accounts.
Mr Eung also created false bank accounts in the names of clients using their confidential information, made withdrawals from client funds held in false bank accounts and impersonated his clients to attempt to avoid detection. At the time, Mr Eung was a NAB financial adviser.
Mr Eung pleaded guilty to the two offences and admitted his conduct outlined in a Statement of Facts (19-098MR).
‘Mr Eung was trusted by his clients to manage their financial affairs. He breached that trust by using their confidential information to create false accounts as well as by accessing his clients’ funds to use for his own benefit,’ said ASIC Commissioner Sean Hughes.
Mr Eung was an authorised representative and financial adviser with NAB from 21 May 2015 to 20 December 2016 and a credit representative of a credit licensee from 14 September 2017 to 23 October 2017.
The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions after a referral from ASIC.
Background:
The banning of Max Eung falls within ASIC's Wealth Management Major Financial Institutions Portfolio. The Portfolio focuses on the financial services conduct of Australia's largest financial institutions (NAB, Westpac, CBA, ANZ, Macquarie and AMP) with respect to credit and retail lending, financial advice, fees for no service, superannuation trustees, insurance, unfair contract terms and other licensee obligations, and other conduct arising from the Financial Services Royal Commission.
As part of its Wealth Management Project, ASIC has banned 60 advisers and three directors from the financial services industry. Three bannings are the subject of appeal.