Ex-liquidator who stole $3m from clients gets 4 years’ jail
Peter Amos plead guilty to misappropriating funds from five companies over a six-year period for his own benefit.
A former liquidator has been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing over $3 million in client funds to fund his personal and business expenses.
Between 2016 and 2022, Peter Andrew Amos, owner of Amos Insolvency, stole funds across five companies while serving as either their external administrator or liquidator.
In a sentencing hearing on Friday, District Court of NSW judge Robyn Tupman said Amos committed a “significant breach of trust”.
Tupman sentenced Amos to four in jail with a non-parole period of two years. Upon his release, Amos would also be banned from managing corporations for five years.
Amos was a liquidator between 2006 and May 2023 and founded Amos Insolvency in 2008.
He was appointed as voluntary administrator, and later as deed administrator of a deed of company arrangement for companies Mikcon Employment Servics, TPC and Conomi Group.
He was also a liquidator of POW 4x4 and A-Force Electrics.
The court heard that from 6 October 2016 to 31 December 2022, Amos transferred over $3 million from the accounts of Mikcon, TPC, POW, A-Force and Conomi Group to his insolvency business.
Once transferred, the funds were used for his own benefit and to pay unrelated expenses of Amos Insolvency.
The court heard “Amos and Amos Insolvency were not entitled to the funds, as all approved remuneration for Amos in the administrations had been paid, and no additional remuneration determinations had been made by the creditors of the companies,” ASIC said.
During this time, ASIC also issued Amos with a direction to not accept further insolvency appointments in April 2022 due to his failure to lodge outstanding documents relating to the administration of Mikcon.
Amos requested that his registration as a liquidator be suspended after ASIC launched an investigation into his affairs.
The suspension took effect from 4 February 2023 and turned into an automatic cancellation when he failed to renew registration by 11 May 2023.
Amos was then charged with four offences of dishonestly using his position as an officer of a company to gain an advantage for his business and himself contrary to s184(2)(a) of the Corporations Act.
A further two offences were included on a schedule to be taken into account by the court on sentence.
ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said Amos “systematically misappropriated funds across five companies over a six-year period amounting to a serious betrayal of trust and an abuse of the obligations expected of administrators and liquidators”.
“This sentence demonstrates that such behaviour will not be tolerated,” she said.
ATO deputy commissioner and Serious Financial Crime Taskforce chief John Ford said: “This outcome sends a clear message to those who look to gain an unfair advantage – you will be caught.”
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