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$200,000 GONE: Broker jailed for stealing client money

Image: Getty
Image: Getty

An insurance broker has been sentenced to two years and nine months jail for funnelling client money into his own bank accounts.

Perth man Sergio Amaranti directed 51 client refunds into his personal accounts, totalling $199,391.32, WA District Court heard.

The refunds were for cancellations and adjustments to insurance policies for customers, with the fraud occurring between January 2009 and October 2015 while Amaranti was a director at Phoenix Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd.

“Mr Amaranti was a director and senior insurance broker who used money owed to his clients for his own benefit,” said ASIC commissioner John Price.



“His deliberate actions breached the trust that must exist between insurance brokers and their clients.”

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The court on Friday sentenced Amaranti to a non-parole period of 18 months after he pleaded guilty to seven counts of dishonest conduct.

The conviction means he is banned from managing any company for five years. ASIC had already disqualified him from providing financial services back in 2016.

Justice Fiona Vernon said during sentencing that these types of crimes “undermines the trust of the community” in the financial industry.

“This is a breach of trust of clients, employers, co-directors and co-workers. When this trust is misplaced, this is the most important factor in sentencing.”

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