Cold-call investment scam fraudster Brian Kelly fails in sentence appeal bid
A MAN who fleeced mum-and-dad investors out of $1.3 million in a cold-call investment scam has lost a bid to have his jail term reduced.
A MAN who fleeced mum-and-dad investors out of $1.3 million in an elaborate, cold-call investment scam has lost a court bid to have his eight year jail sentence reduced.
Brian John Kelly, 36, operated the scam from his inner Brisbane home after being released on bail for operating a similar scheme in his home state of Victoria.
In the Brisbane District Court in February, he pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering, admitting to duping 36 people into transferring him money by convincing them they were investing in high-yield share funds.
He was sentenced to eight years and seven months in jail but appealed the sentence in the Queensland Court of Appeal on the grounds it was manifestly excessive.
On Tuesday, the court threw out the application.
The 36-year-old father-of-one has been in custody since his 2014 arrest and will be eligible for parole in February next year.
The court heard Kelly, an ice addict, used the fraudulently obtained funds to bankroll a luxury lifestyle.
When police raided his home in the affluent inner Brisbane suburb of Paddington in early February 2014, they found, according to the court, “a large number of luxury goods” including a motorbike and jewellery, receipts for items totalling more than $11,000 and a small amount of cocaine.
At the time, Mr Kelly did not have a legitimate source of income.
He had not filed a tax return since 2008.
Conversely, his victims, mostly retirees or those soon to retire, were left broken.
In victim impact statements tendered to the court, many spoke of their devastation.
“Many said their lives had been ruined,” Justice Phillip Morrison said in his published reasons for throwing out the appeal.
“Others expressed their shock and anger, and detailed the detrimental effect on their physical and mental health.
“For one the pain was acute, as he persuaded his daughter to invest as well.”
The sentencing judge described Kelly’s behaviour as “callous, cunning and sophisticated” before imposing the lengthy sentence.
Justice Morrison referred to a similar cold call investment scam case that had previously appeared before the court, where the architect of the scheme was described as, “cynical and cruel ... predatory in nature and demonstrating a meanness not regularly seen before in court.”
The offender in that case, like Kelly, had expressed no remorse or acceptance of responsibility.
Justice Morrison said the same applied to Kelly.
“The descriptions of the nature of offending can be directly applied to Mr Kelly’s offending ... However Mr Kelly’s position is worse in that there was the extra charge of money laundering and the offences were committed while on bail,” he said.
“There is a further factor in Mr Kelly’s case. The Victorian County Court gave him the benefit of a chance to make restitution for his Victorian offending and he abused that by operating a similar scheme in Queensland, the sole aim of which was to defraud many more victims, rather than make any restitution for the crimes he had already committed.”
The judge described the scam as “scurrilous predatory behaviour, designed from the outset to strip victims of their property, with not the slightest redeeming feature about it”.
He said he was “unpersuaded that the sentence imposed on Mr Kelly was manifestly excessive”.
MASTER MANIPULATORS
People such as Kelly have been described by Queensland’s top law enforcement officers as “master manipulators” who extort an average of $20,000 to $30,000 from each victim.
In July, four of Queensland’s top legal and consumer chiefs banded together to signal a warning about the practice, which is particularly active in south east Queensland.
Crime and Corruption Commission chief Alan MacSporran said scammers robbed older Australians of a collective $50 million each year, very little of which is ever recovered.
“Make no mistake, cold call investment fraud, or boiler room fraud as it is commonly known, is a form of organised crime,” he said.
“These syndicates are not run by dodgy salesmen, they are controlled by master manipulators, who regularly prey upon people from all over Australia.”
Like Kelly, many establish slick, fraudulent websites that give every appearance of legitimacy.
But Mr MacSporran said far from vulnerable little, old ladies being coerced into parting with their funds, the average target victim is male, aged in his 50s or 60s, well-educated, computer-literate and considers himself financially savvy.
He warned some people had lost their entire superannuation funds.
Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said the chameleon-like operations run by scammers, along with the resource-heavy requirements of investigating them, made arresting people difficult.
“These entities are not like entities we tend to deal with at any given time,” he said. “What we are dealing with is a chameleon that changes its spots almost on a daily basis.
“These are very, very difficult targets to hit.”
Mr Stewart said in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast alone, 11 known syndicates investigated over the past decade had managed to rob victims of $175 million.
The vast majority have done so since 2010.
TO PROTECT YOURSELF YOU CAN:
• Hang up on unsolicited telephone calls offering investments.
• Visit www.moneysmart.gov.au or call 1300 300 630 for more information or advice.
• Alert your family and friends to these investment frauds, especially those who may have
savings to invest.
• Report suspected investment frauds to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, through www.moneysmart.gov.au or 1300 300 630, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission through www.scamwatch.gov.au, or your local police. Any information that can
be provided such as company name, location and contact details will assist with subsequent investigations and inquiries.
• Check that any company you have discussed investments with has a valid Australian Financial Services Licence at www.moneysmart.gov.au.
• Seek independent financial advice before making an investment.
• Contact your financial institution immediately if you think you’ve been scammed to see whether they can retrieve funds invested or prevent further funds being lost.