Investment manager sentenced for forging investor reports
The director of Metal Alpha has been sentenced to three years behind bars for forging reports about the performance of his trading strategy.
In a public statement, ASIC reported that the director of Metal Alpha, Brett Paul Trevillian, had been sentenced to three years imprisonment for forgery when he was the investment manager of AlphaThorn.
Trevillian, convicted of forging reports about the performance of his trading strategy ‘The Gold Method’, pleaded guilty in court last week.
Trevillian was sentenced in the Sydney District Court and was found guilty under two counts of making false documents to obtain a financial advantage under section 253 of the Crimes Act NSW.
ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said the corporate regulator welcomed the sentencing decision which reflected its ongoing efforts to stamp out misconduct.
“Mr Trevillian failed to fulfil his legal obligations, acted dishonestly, made false and misleading representations and breached the trust of those he was engaged to act for,” Court said.
Between April and October 2019, ASIC’s investigation found that Trevillian had forged four portfolio performance verification reports related to two products offered by his investment business, AlphaThorn.
According to ASIC, these products were managed discretionary account investments offered to wholesale investors, being the secured service and the enhanced service.
“AlphaThorn provided the portfolio performance verification reports to potential investors,” ASIC said.
“Thery forged portfolio performance verification reports falsely verified or claimed a history of successful investment returns.”
“They also falsely claimed that training had been conducted through a particular broking firm and that the reports had been produced by an external firm of accountants who had verified actual trading, including forging the signature of an accountant.”
The AFSL of Metal Alpha was cancelled by ASIC on 19 May 2022 after it was confirmed the firm was no longer carrying on a financial services business and did not intend to resume trading.
ASIC said the maximum sentence for making a false document to obtain a financial advantage under section 253 of the Crimes Act 1900 is 10 years’ imprisonment.
Trevillian was arrested on 20 July 2023, and the current sentence was stood over until 20 December 2024 to enable Trevillian’s suitability for an intensive correction order to be assessed.
The matter was prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions after an investigation and referral by ASIC.
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