A third person has pleaded guilty to the Courtenay House Ponzi scheme in Sydney.
Appearing at the Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday, David Sipina of Croydon NSW has pleaded guilty to two criminal charges relating to his role at the Courtenay House group of companies.
This includes one count of carrying on a financial services business without a license, and one count of dealing in the proceeds of crime worth $1 million or more.
The Courtenay House group offered returns to investors based on representations that their funds would be traded in the Forex and Futures markets. ASIC alleges that approximately 585 investors contributed over $180 million to the scheme but only a fraction of the funds were actually traded.
Sipina was committed to the Sydney District Court for sentencing, which will occur on a date yet to be fixed. Sipina’s first appearance before that court will be on 19 April 2024
Former director of the Courtenay House companies, Tony Iervasi, pleaded guilty to charges relating to operating the Ponzi scheme in November 2022. The sentencing hearing will be on 22 and 24 April 2024 in the Supreme Court of NSW.
On 8 May 2023, former Courtenay House contractor, Athan Papoulias, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, to be served by way of an intensive corrections order for his role in the unlicensed financial services business. As part of his sentence, Papoulias was ordered to complete 120 hours of community service.