Demetrios “James” Charisiou fronts court over fraud totalling $38m

A crooked Melbourne company director with “an inflated ego” ripped off overseas investors to the tune of $38m. See how he was brought down.

Disgraced former company director Demetrios “James” Charisiou has been sentenced to 12 years’ jail for fleecing overseas investors of more than $38m.

A greedy former company director with an “inflated ego” ripped off South Korean investors of more than $38m using fake NDIS-approved properties, a court has heard.

Demetrios “James” Charisiou, 67, was on Friday jailed in the Supreme Court for 12 years on two charges of two counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and another two of using false documents.

The disgraced former director appeared shocked at the length of his sentence and briefly looked at his supporters in the public gallery before stumbling down the stairs as he was being led away.

Demetrios Charisiou faked NDIS-approved properties in an elaborate scam to fleece overseas investors.

Charisiou produced fake documents from banks and insurance companies and forged signatures from directors and lawyers to secure funds in excess of $38m from investors running an asset management company in South Korea for Melbourne properties that were never purchased.

Charisiou — who moved to Australia from Cyprus when he was five — worked across the globe in places such as Dubai and Switzerland for companies including KPMG and Nissan, before health complications removed him from the workforce temporarily.

In August 2018, Charisiou registered LBA Capital, and its related company Living Bright Australia (LBA), with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) which sought to purchase properties and retrofit them to meet disability accommodation requirements for NDIS participants.

The following year, two Korean companies, KB Securities and JB Asset Management (JBAM), became aware of investment opportunities related to the supply of NDIS-approved housing and engaged in multiple business transactions with LBA Capital totalling almost $400m.

Charisiou obtained $38m in financial advantage by deception, namely by sending documents to the Korean investors relating to the purchase of two Moonee Ponds properties — at Hall St and Aspen St — that were false in April and May 2019.

The Supreme Court in Melbourne has sentenced Demetrios Charisiou to 12 years in prison for duping South Korean investors of more than $38m.

The deception related to documents which included contracts of sale by vendors, NDIS certificates, legal advice letters, and insurance policies.

Justice Champion said the Victorian police fraud and extortion squad discovered that Charisiou either forged signatures or cut and pasted them from other sources as part of representations he made to the foreign investors.

One of his victims told the court the reputational damage and substantial costs to recover the fraudulently obtained funds through civil and criminal proceedings in South Korea have been massive.

Justice John Champion said although the precise motive of Charisiou’s offending could not be established, he said a combination of greed and an inflated sense of ego were the likely causes.

He said Charisiou’s hypomania and bipolar disorders as contributing factors to his highly sophisticated and planned offending could be accepted to a point only.

“I consider that given your age and experience as a businessman, it is likely that you acutely understood the effect your actions would have on the victim companies, and the inevitable mess that would eventuate once the fraud was detected.

“I don’t believe that you found yourself out of your depth to negotiate such complex deals,” Justice Champion said in his lengthy ruling.

Justice Champion ordered that Charisiou serve a minimum of eight years before he’s eligible for parole.