Couple conned out of $360k by financial planner
A disgraced financial planner conned a couple out of $360,000, sinking to “staggering” depths of deceit so he could pay off his credit cards and feed an online gambling addiction, a court has been told.
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A financial planner conned a couple out of $360,000, sinking to “staggering” depths of deceit so he could pay off his credit cards and feed an online gambling addiction, a court has heard.
Daniel Peter Logan, 40, was in “extreme financial stress” when he took the Brisbane couple on as clients while working as a planner at financial services group Anne Street Partners in 2013.
A court heard that over five years, Logan stole money from their self-managed super account, enticed the couple into buying properties which he mismanaged and then falsified documents to pretend their investments were increasing in value.
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The money was gambled away on online betting websites, used to pay his Anytime Fitness and Foxtel memberships and $10,000 went to paying off his credit card.
The couple were forced to “downsize” and sell their family property, while the husband, a truck driver, had been unable to retire early because their superannuation had been ”wiped out”.
Logan faced Brisbane District Court on Wednesday where he was sentenced to six years’ jail after pleading guilty to the single count of fraud.
The court was told that in 2017, Logan was issued with a lifetime ban by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission after an investigation found he had engaged in dishonest conduct.
But rather than admitting “the jig was up”, Logan re-entrenched himself in the couple’s life telling them he had resigned and offering to continue to manage their finances.
The couple was not told by Anne Street or Logan about the ban.
“The nature of the dishonesty itself and the depths to which he descended is staggering,” Prosecutor David Finch said.
“He persisted in a calculated and callous ongoing series of lies … in order to avoid detection.”
Barrister Penelope White said Logan began “chasing the next big win” after his life spiralled out of control and into debt.
“It was his intention to pay the money back,” Ms White said.
The court was told Logan was unable to pay the couple back but, in his will, he had left 13 per cent of his $2.8 million life insurance to the truck driver’s wife.
He had undertaken counselling sessions to address his ambling and had hoped to pursue a career in biomedical engineering.
Judge Craig Chowdhury said financial planners had a high duty of care to their clients and remarked at the “sheer audacity” of his offending.
“These people trusted you and you just took complete advantage and it’s just mind boggling” he said.
Logan will be eligible for parole in March 2022.