A former Gold Coast property promoter who scammed nearly $2 million from investors — most of them pensioners — has been jailed for more than eight years.
Last year, Anthony Keith Silver pleaded guilty to one count of fraud after he was caught misappropriating funds from two property development companies he was the shadow director of.
On Monday he was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison, with a non-parole period of two and a half years.
His son, Bradley Silver, has already served two and a half years in jail for his part in the scheme.
The companies Anthony Silver oversaw — Capital Growth International Club (CGIC) Pty Ltd and All About Property Developments (AAPD) Pty Ltd — raised approximately $9 million from investors between 2008 and 2010.
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) said many of the companies' investors were pensioners who were approached by cold-call telemarketers or were reached through word of mouth.
Some were convinced to borrow money against their homes to make investments.
Investors were told their money would be used to develop property in Tasmania or pooled and invested in bank term deposits.
They were also told they would receive annual returns on their investments of between 15 and 20 per cent.
When CGIC and AAPD were placed into liquidation in February 2011 investors were still owed approximately $9 million.
'Calculated dishonesty'
Anthony Silver, who was caught misappropriating $1.815 million, now joins his son and a third man, David St Pierre, in being convicted over the scheme.
During sentencing, Judge Vicki Loury KC made mention of the financial and psychological cost of Mr Silver's fraud on his victims.
Bradley Silver was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in September 2019 after he pleaded guilty to dishonesty offences totalling more than $4.7 million.
At the time of his sentencing, Judge Deborah Richards called his actions "callous" and said the scheme involved "calculated dishonesty".
He unsuccessfully appealed the sentence in April 2020 but has since been released on parole.
David St Pierre, a former Westpac home finance manager, was handed a three-year jail sentence for his part in the scheme in 2017.
Mr St Pierre was found to have submitted false loan applications to obtain more than $2.5 million for Westpac customers to invest in CGIC and AAPD developments.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of dishonest use of his position, with the intention of directly or indirectly gaining an advantage for himself or others.
