Former Forex.com and Invast Director Sentenced Over Suspected Scam Proceeds
Brendan Gunn received a 12-month prison sentence for dealing with funds suspected to be proceeds of crime.
1Conviction
Brendan Gunn was found guilty by the NSW Local Court of dealing with over AUD 180,000 suspected to be proceeds of crime. Sentenced to 12 months in prison, Gunn was released immediately on a AUD 3,000 recognizance, subject to good behavior for 12 months.
2Suspicious Bank Activity
As director of Mormarkets, Gunn opened 22 bank accounts across six financial institutions. Banks flagged deposits linked to fraud or suspicious activity, leading to the eventual closure of all accounts associated with the company.
3Money Transfer
Gunn received two bank cheques totaling AUD 181,000 from closed accounts and sent them to an associate. Despite bank warnings, he continued opening new accounts, leading to his conviction for dealing with suspected crime proceeds.
4ASIC's Role
ASIC Chair Sarah Court stated Gunn ignored warnings about funds linked to scams, aiding the movement of money taken from Australians. ASIC has coordinated the removal of over 25,000 scam and phishing sites since 2023 to combat such activities.
5Industry Background
Before joining Mormarkets, Gunn spent six years at Forex.com, serving as Director of Global Client Services for Asia-Pacific from 2006-2013. He later established Invast Securities' Australian subsidiary as CEO and briefly worked with GMT Markets in 2018.
6Scam Crackdown
ASIC fined HSBC AUD 35 million for scam protection failures and revoked Capital Guard's AFS license over fake bond sales. ScamWatch and ReportCyber recorded 60,657 scam reports and AUD 248.3 million in losses in Q1 2026, highlighting ongoing challenges.