A businessman who promised a “pot of gold at the end of a rainbow” is in custody awaiting sentencing after swindling millions of dollars from investors.
Chris Marco was convicted of 43 fraud charges after illegally accepting more than $34 million from six clients and falsely promising healthy returns from investment schemes that did not exist.
The 67-year-old told his victims he was an experienced private investor with exclusive financial opportunities similar to fixed-term deposits, the Western Australian Supreme Court was told.
But in reality, he was an “illusionist” who used investors’ money to pay returns to other clients, prosecutor Steven Whybrow said during the five-week trial.
Marco used word-of-mouth referrals and introductions, and accountants who had spotted the healthy return promises to meet would-be investors.
He took “people to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but there was no pot of gold”, Whybrow said.
Corporate regulator Australian Securities and Investments Commission said the verdicts marked the end of a sorry chapter.
“This result delivers justice to investors, who Marco defrauded and speaks to ASIC’s painstaking investigation into this complex matter,” deputy chair Sarah Court said.
Marco was allegedly given a total of more than $253 million by about 150 people across 327 instances between January 2010 and November 2018.
But the scheme was a “hungry beast” built on “flimsy foundations” and was “taking on water” because it relied on ever-increasing amounts of investment funds to pay returns, Whybrow said.
By the time investigators froze Marco’s accounts, he had just $12 million in cash with $711 million in cumulative guarantees and the scheme would likely have toppled in three to four months, the court was told.
About 78 per cent or $198.5 million of the money Marco collected was returned to investors.
Six per cent was allegedly used to buy motor vehicles and property, eight per cent or about $21 million was transferred to Marco and his family, and four per cent was invested.
Marco’s lawyer Luka Margaretic reportedly flagged that the verdicts would be appealed after the verdicts were handed down yesterday.
Marco’s former executive assistant, Linda Marissen, 57, was acquitted of 17 charges of fraud.
Marissen had been charged with 30 fraud offences.
But not guilty verdicts were entered for 13 of these during the trial, because there was insufficient evidence for the jury to be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that she had helped Marco commit the frauds, as alleged.
Marco was remanded in custody for sentencing on October 30.
