Ponzi scheme operator pleads guilty to ASIC charges

Mrs Hazel Bernice Bucello yesterday pleaded guilty in the Melbourne County Court to six counts of deception, following an investigation by ASIC. Mrs Bucello was the sole director of loan and mortgage broking business Victorian Finance Broking Services Pty Ltd (VFBS), which was based in Kew, Victoria.

Mrs Bucello pleaded guilty to the following charges:

• five counts of obtaining property by deception; and
• one count of obtaining a financial advantage by deception.

Mrs Bucello’s bail was extended to 4 May 2010 when she will reappear at the Melbourne County Court for a plea hearing and sentencing.

Background

The six counts of deception involve a sum of $2,531,139 that was invested by five investors between 2004 and 2006. The investors were told that their money would be used to provide bridging finance to other clients of VFBS. The investors were promised between 4% and 5% interest per month on their invested capital.

ASIC’s investigation found that investors were in fact being repaid their own money, as is typical of a ponzi scheme, and the scheme was reliant on new funds being invested to meet the promised interest payments. Those who invested at the very beginning fared much better than the last investor, who received no interest payments.

While some of the victims received interest payments, the capital invested was not repaid, although some of the victims did receive regular monthly interest payments. Ms Bucello used the remaining monies for her own purposes and some was used to meet the financial obligations of VFBS.

The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions