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Joshua David Fuocohas been convicted and fined for managing a financial services company while disqualified.
Following a referral and investigation from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Joshua David Fuoco pleaded guilty and was subsequently convicted of one count of “managing a corporation whilst disqualified” in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.
In 2016, Mr Fuoco was disqualified from managing corporations for at least two years and six months after two of the companies where he was a director, FP Investment Partners Pty Ltd and Equilibrium FS Pty Ltd, were wound up.
However, ASIC later alleged that Mr Fuoco was involved in another company, Financial Circle, a company that provided small loans during this time.
Mr Fuoco’s involvement in Financial Circle included:
- Making key decisions on consumer loan arrangements on behalf of Financial Circle;
- Instructing other employees and officers of the company including its directors; and
- Dealing with staff, wages and invoices, telemarketing scripts, website content, and the sale of client books.
After he pleaded guilty to the charges, Mr Fuoco was fined the sum of $6,000 for managing a corporation while disqualified.
According to ASIC, the charge of acting in the management of a corporation while disqualified carried a maximum penalty of imprisonment for one year and/or 50 penalty units.
This is not the first time Mr Fuoco has drawn the ire of ASIC. In 2018, Mr Fuoco was ordered to pay a penalty of $650,000 after it was found that three Melbourne-based firms (Wealth and Risk Management, Yes FP and Jeca Holdings) were the subject of legal action by ASIC following accusations of numerous wrongdoings.
The Federal Court ordered the companies to pay penalties totalling $7,150,000 after ASIC accused the businesses of advertising “fast cash” to consumers with poor credit histories.
This required the clients to implement financial advice that recommended switching super accounts, while the companies charged fees and commissions out of those super funds and used upfront commissions from high-end insurance policies sold to customers as the source of “cash rebates” to those clients.
These actions breached the rules that govern financial services businesses, such as taking reasonable steps to ensure advice is appropriate and in the best interests of the client along with ensuring that those services are provided honestly and fairly.
Furthermore, the Federal Court ordered that these businesses must be restrained from carrying on financial services for 18 years and be permanently restrained from making offers of cash payments related to financial advice or entering into and/or advertising cash rebate agreements.
[RELATED: Fintech lender hit with 2 infringement notices: ASIC]
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