Former rich lister Craig Gore has been unsuccessful in his attempts to appeal a conviction on six counts of fraud relating to a scam that saw him defraud self-managed super funds of $350,000.
Gore, son of Sanctuary Cove developer Mike Gore, was sentenced to a minimum of two years in jail last November after being found guilty of the fraud charges.
This week the Queensland Court of Appeal dismissed Gore's appeal, finding it was open to the trial judge to convict on the six counts of fraud.
The court also concluded that the evidence demonstrated he had continued to secure funds from investors after December 2013 without disclosing there was no real prospect of them being repaid.
Gore, who last year was denied permission by the court to temporarily return to Sweden where his wife and children now live, has been serving his sentence since he was remanded in custody in October 2020.
ASIC brought civil charges against Gore in 2013 in Federal Court alleging he was involved in an offshore scheme that misused more than $4 million raised from small investors to buy distressed residential assets in the US.
Federal Court Justice Richard White handed down his judgement in 2015, finding that Gore, while bankrupt, was the architect of the scheme that channelled the funds raised from self-managed super funds to companies registered in the British Virgin Islands.
The ex-businessman, who crashed into bankruptcy in 2021 owing creditors $282 million, is facing three further charges over allegedly acting in the management of three corporations (MGOS, Slepiner Financial and Arion) whilst disqualified from doing so.
These charges did not form part of the fraud trial and will return to the Queensland Magistrates Court for mention on 20 August 2021 following delivery of the appeal judgment.
Each of the charges he is facing carries a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment or a fine of up to $8,500.
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