Melbourne property developer manipulated ‘vulnerable’ victims out of their life savings

A Melbourne property developer who swindled $520,000 from vulnerable victims including a teacher, a pharmacist and a shearer has been jailed.

Mudasir Mohammed Naseeruddin has admitted duping investors of more than $520,000 and for withdrawing $550,000 for personal use.

A Melbourne judge has condemned the offending of a former property developer, who swindled the life savings of his victims as “egregious”, before jailing him for four years and four months.

Mudasir Naseeruddin did not react as County Court Judge Fiona Todd told him his offending was “manipulative” and “persuasive”. He had obtained about $520,0000 from six victims — who included a teacher, a pharmacist and a shearer — and who were considered vulnerable with less financial literacy compared with his own.

ASIC took Mudasir Mohammed Naseeruddin to court.

Naseeruddin pleaded guilty in August to two counts of dishonest conduct and two counts of failing to discharge his duties as a director in the best interests of a company.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission examined Naseeruddin after he obtained their superannuation between May 2015 and January 2020, rolling it into newly created self-managed superannuation funds and reporting their money would be invested in property developments.

But those funds were loaned to his two companies, Secure Investments Pty Ltd and Aquila Group Pty Ltd.

As well, between July 2016 and December 2019 Naseeruddin dishonestly used his position as a director of those companies to withdraw more than $550,000 to buy shares in a security outfit for his own benefit.

On Wednesday Justice Todd said in her sentencing that a particular feature of Naseeruddin’s offending was the vulnerability of his victims.

“(Your) offending was persuasive and manipulative. (You) exploited relationships of trust with people in your own community,” she said.

Naseeruddin’s first victim was a teacher who “trusted” the now 33-year-old man with about $124,000 between 2015 and 2019 after he was promised a 15 per cent return on the money.

His second victim was a pharmacist who between 2017 and 2019 invested about $70,000 with Naseeruddin. This victim was promised a 10 per cent return on his investment and was told it was a “safe” bet.

Another victim invested about $74,000 between 2018 and 2019 after he was “convinced” by Naseeruddin to join his scheme.

The final three victims are from the NSW northwest town of Bourke, the court heard.

One woman, an Indigenous woman who worked in the health sector, found out about Naseeruddin’s scheme through a contact from Church and ultimately invested her superannuation of about $50,000.

As well, an Indigenous couple who worked in the health sector and as a casual shearer, also from Bourke, lost nearly all of their combined $200,000.

None of Naseeruddin’s victims have ever fully recovered their money.

Justice Todd said she considered Naseeruddin’s offending to be “egregious”, although there was no “little ultimate enrichment” to him as a result of poor management.

“Your victims were people who earned modest incomes, whose work was important,” she said.

“(They) have experienced countless hours of worry and stress, (and) lost sleep. (They are experiencing) profound and ongoing consequences.”

Justice Todd said she understood Naseeruddin brought “shame” to his family, who migrated to Australia from India when he was 16 years old.

Naseeruddin is separated from his wife whom he met through an arranged marriage, and has not seen his children in years the court heard.

Aside from receiving a fine for a family violence incident in 2020, he does not have any prior convictions and Justice Todd considered him to have good rehabilitation prospects.

ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said the investors were taken advantage of and “their funds were used dishonestly”.

“ASIC has been dedicated to this case for some time, freezing the assets of Mr Naseeruddin’s companies in 2019 and obtaining orders to wind up the companies in 2020,” she said.

“(Thursday’s) criminal outcome sends a strong message that dishonest conduct by directors will be investigated and prosecuted.”

She ordered he serve four years and four months in jail with a non-parole period of two years and nine months.