Fraud and Theft Investments by a Investment Advisor
I am a victim of fraud and theft investments to the value of 1 million dollars. In the last six months I have searched the Financial Ombudsman Service and ASIC and found out the investment advisor was not registered and the products were all fraudulent. I have tried a private solicitor and continue to experience the same problems.
1. We cannot find out if he has insurance? How do I do this as he does not respond ? 2. We are doing a property search to see if he owns his house or has a mortgage. How do I get my money back?
I have been told that if I proceed with NCAT then the Supreme Court may ban me from pursuing the full amount. Is this correct? The law protects him.
Hi there. The first thing you should do is report the
alleged misconduct to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.
ASIC will contact you to discuss your situation and may be able to offer
information about how you can recover your money. ASIC may also decide to
investigate the financial advisor you dealt with. You may want to consider
reporting the matter to police, as they can investigate thefts and fraud.
From the information you provided, you may have a personal
legal claim against the financial advisor. This claim would be on the basis
that the advisor misled you into investing into certain products and/or made
certain false representations that caused you to invest money. A lawyer will be
able to properly advise you on the nature of your legal claim and the prospects
of success.
If you were to make a personal legal claim, it would need to
be commenced in the District Court or Supreme Court. This is because your claim
value is $1 million and such large amounts can only be dealt with by these
higher courts.
If the claim is for a significantly lesser amount, it may
fall within the jurisdiction of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal
(NCAT) or the equivalent civil claims tribunal in your state or territory.
Making a claim in the Tribunal will not mean you are “banned” from pursuing
your claim in the Supreme Court, although you would only be able to commence
proceedings in the Supreme Court if you decided to appeal the Tribunal’s
decision. Not every decision can be appealed, and much will depend on the
nature of the Tribunal’s original decision.
Lastly, there appears to be several practical barriers to
your legal options. There is no publicly available register or other way in
which you can easily determine if your financial advisor is insured. There is
also no easy way to reach a person who is difficult to contact. If you decide
to commence a personal legal claim against the financial advisor, you will need
to serve special court documents on the advisor. Although your legal action may
still be possible even if you cannot contact the advisor, you are still likely
to face difficulties in recovering your money if the person cannot be found.
Suggested way forward
You should consider reporting the matter to ASIC (www.asic.gov.au) and/or the police. You should also consider speaking to a lawyer about the possibility of bringing a personal legal claim against the financial advisor. By pressing the “Take Action” button, LawAdvisor can help you search for experienced lawyers and obtain fee proposals for their services. Costs for legal advice and representation will vary between providers based on experience and the scope of services.
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