Former Berndale Director Sentenced to Nearly Four Years

Former Berndale Capital Securities director Stavro D’Amore received a prison term of three years and ten months after a Federal Court found him guilty of misusing nearly $700,000 of client money and submitting false statements to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Details of the conviction

The court sentenced D’Amore to an effective term of three years and ten months, with a non‑parole period of 23 months. He was taken into custody on July 23 following the judgment. The offenses stemmed from actions between 2017 and 2018, during which the former director transferred $681,496.98 from Berndale accounts, fully aware that the funds originated from retail client deposits.

In addition to the misappropriation, D’Amore authorized documents that misrepresented the existence of overseas bank accounts. Those filings to ASIC claimed that the accounts held Berndale funds, yet the records were either wholly fictitious or severely inaccurate. The regulator highlighted that the company was required under its Australian financial services licence to maintain a minimum level of net tangible assets and to lodge audited financial statements.

Regulatory response and broader impact

ASIC chair Sarah Court said the case illustrated a “serious abuse of position” that jeopardized retail investors and eroded confidence in the nation’s financial system. “D’Amore seriously abused his position as director to enrich himself and he authorised false statements to ASIC to hide the true financial position of the company he had taken money from at the expense of Berndale investors,” Court stated. She added that such conduct “puts retail investors at serious risk and undermines trust in Australia’s financial system.”

Justice Abraham echoed the sentiment, noting that crimes of this nature harm not only the directly affected clients but also the broader investing public. “Victims of these types of crimes are not confined to those who directly suffered through loss of their funds, but extend to the investing public at large,” he said.

Berndale’s collapse in December 2018 left more than $8.9 million owed to former clients, a figure that highlights the lingering fallout from the director’s misconduct.

In May, D’Amore entered a guilty plea to three rolled‑up Corporations Act charges covering dishonest use of his position, dishonest conduct in a financial services business, and authorising false statements to ASIC. The plea agreement facilitated the court’s ability to impose a sizable custodial term without a protracted trial.