Former adviser cops 10-year ban for crypto investment scam

A former financial adviser who headed a cryptocurrency-based investment scam has been handed down a 10-year ban by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which cited “misleading and deceptive conduct” as the reason behind the ban.

Glenda Maree Rogan was a financial adviser and accountant at various companies under the ‘Fincare’ banner as well as an authorised representative of Australian financial services (AFS) licensee Private Wealth Pty Ltd between March 2022 and June 2023, the period when she swiped approximately $14.8 million in funds from clients, family and friends under false pretences.

An ASIC investigation determined Rogan had misled clients and made falsified statements about the “nature, risks and liquidity” of the proposed investment to persuade them to invest, including that the funds were being invested in a high-yield fixed interest account and that she was engaged with the clients “in her capacity as a representative of Fincare”.

In reality, the funds were first transferred to bank accounts held by Rogan and her personal company before mostly being converted into cryptocurrency and then deposited into several digital wallets “nominated” by UK-based trading platform and member of ASIC’s Investor Alert List, the Financial Centre.

The corporate regulator said in the statement about Rogan that the Financial Centre is listed as an “unlicensed entity that should not be trusted” and Rogan is suspected to have had doubts about the platform’s veracity since October 2022, during the period in which her scam was ongoing.

Rogan’s banning commenced from 6 June and it has been recorded on ASIC’s banned and disqualified register. The corporate watchdog also confirmed that its investigation of Rogan’s conduct is still ongoing.

“ASIC found that Ms Rogan did not comply with a financial services law by engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct,” the statement said.

“ASIC also found it had reason to believe that Ms Rogan is not a fit and proper person, is not competent to participate in the Australian financial services industry and is likely to contravene a financial services law.

“Ms Rogan has also been banned for ten years from:

• performing any function involved in the carrying on of a financial services business, and
• controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business.”