Director of Public Prosecutions v Ingbritsen

[2014] VCC 1208

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

ROBERT INGBRITSEN

---

JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEAN
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	17 June 2014
DATE OF SENTENCE:	23 June 2014
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Ingbritsen
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2014] VCC 1208

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
---

Subject:
Catchwords:
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence:

---

APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr M Regan	O.P.P.
For the Offender	Ms R Clark	Victoria Legal Aid

HIS HONOUR: 

1Robert Frederick Ingbritsen, you have pleaded guilty to 32 charges of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, contrary to s.82 of the Crimes Act 1958. The maximum penalty for Charges 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28 and 30 is ten years' imprisonment. By operation of part 2B of the Sentencing Act 1991, Charges 3, 5, 8, 15, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 31 and 32 are continuing criminal enterprise offences and the maximum penalty for them is 20 years' imprisonment.

2You pleaded guilty after being committed to stand trial in this court and so your plea may not properly be described as an early plea, but it has saved the community the expense of a long and complex trial and I accept it evidences your remorse.  Accordingly, I have taken your plea of guilty into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence.  You have no prior convictions, subsequent convictions or outstanding charges. 

3A prosecution opening was read to the court, tendered in evidence and your offending may be summarised as follows: 

4Between 21 March 2007 and 1 February 2010 you dishonestly obtained deposit funds in the total sum of $2,970,000 from 32 persons who provided funds to you for the purpose of investing in foreign exchange trades.  At all relevant times you had no relevant qualifications to carry out such transactions and you made a number of false representations to those persons as to how their investments would be managed. 

5Of the total funds provided to you, $1,878,637, was deposited in an account for the purpose of currency trading.  Between December 2008 and March 2010 that account recorded a trading loss of $522,586.  Because very poor records were kept by you, it is not possible to accurately identify what became of the funds not deposited into the currency trading account, although in all probability, some of these funds were paid to the three original investors in your scheme.  $687,850 in cash was also withdrawn from the account, but it is also not possible to accurately identify what became of these funds.

6However, I accept that there is no evidence of personal enrichment in this case.  Apart from the original three investors in your scheme and one other investor, all investors lost their funds and no recovery has occurred.  Whilst I will make compensation orders in this matter, in all likelihood those orders will not be complied with, as you have no income or assets.

7I have received in evidence four victim impact statements prepared by investors and I accept that your offending has caused them significant financial and personal hardship.  Your selfish, misguided and dishonest conduct was without justification and you must be punished for what you have done.  Furthermore, any sentence that I impose must be calculated to deter you and others from offending in this way.  I do, however, accept that in all probability you will not reoffend, and accordingly I have moderated the application of the principle of specific deterrence in your case. 

8You were born on 7 January 1954 and you are now 60.  You are divorced and have two children, one of whom has severe deafness.  Your former wife also has a foster child who you are close to.  You were educated to year 11 level and then worked for the SEC.  You were also trained as a baker and you work in that occupation now.  As I have said, you had no formal qualifications or experience to invest other persons' money, but I nevertheless accept that your offending began in part as a result of your naivety and the naivety of your investors.  It is not possible to identify when your conduct became driven solely by dishonesty, but that is clearly what took place. 

9I have received in evidence a report of Ms Carla Lechner, a consulting and forensic psychologist, in relation to your background and psychological profile.  I accept you suffer from depression and anxiety and that this will, to some extent, compound the hardship of imprisonment upon you. 

10Your counsel submitted that it would be open to me to wholly suspend any sentence of imprisonment that I am to impose upon you.  In my opinion, a sentence of three years' imprisonment or less which was wholly suspended would not meet the purposes for which this sentence is to be imposed and would be out of step with current sentencing practices for offences of this nature and of this magnitude.

11I do, however, accept that your prospects of rehabilitation are good, and I have decided that I should impose a shorter than usual non-parole period in your case. 

12Your counsel accepted that there should be cumulation of the sentences I impose in respect of the counts on the Indictment, and I have applied the principle of totality in determining the appropriate proportionate sentence that I should impose in your case.

13In the result, the sentence of the court is as follows: 

14On Charge 1, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for nine months; on Charge 2, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for nine months; on Charge 3, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for two years and six months; on Charge 4, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for nine months; on Charge 5, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for 18 months; on Charge 6, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months; on Charge 7, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months; on Charge 8, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for 18 months; on Charge 9, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for nine months; on Charge 10, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for nine months.

15On Charge 11, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for nine months; on Charge 12, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months; on Charge 13, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months; on Charge 14, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months; on Charge 15, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for two years; on Charge 16, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months; on Charge 17, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months; on Charge 18, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for 15 months; on Charge 19, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for three years; on Charge 20, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months.

16On Charge 21, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months; on Charge 22, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for nine months; on Charge 23, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for nine months; on Charge 24, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for two years and six months; on Charge 25, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for three years, and that sentence is to be the base sentence. 

17On Charge 26, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for 15 months; on Charge 27, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for two years; on Charge 28, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months; on Charge 29, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for 15 months; on Charge 30, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months; on Charge 31, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for 15 months; on Charge 32, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for 15 months.

18I order that one month of the sentence imposed on Charges 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28 and 30 and two months of the sentences on Charges 3, 5, 8, 15, 18, 19, 24, 26, 27, 29, 31 and 32 be served cumulatively on each other and cumulatively on the sentence I have imposed on Charge 25.

19This makes for a total effective term of imprisonment of six years and seven months. 

20I order that you serve two years' and nine months' imprisonment before becoming eligible for release on parole. 

21But for your plea of guilty, I would have imposed a total effective term of imprisonment of eight years and imposed a non-parole period of four years. 

22I declare that you have served six days by way of presentence detention.

23I make the compensation orders sought on behalf of the prosecution. 

24You can be seated, Mr Ingbritsen.  Is there anything further required?

25COUNSEL:  No, Your Honour. 

26HIS HONOUR:  All right, thank you, yes. 

27MS CLARK:  Your Honour pleases. 

28HIS HONOUR:  That means, Mr Ingbritsen, that you will be eligible for consideration by the parole board for release on parole in two years and nine months, less six days from this date. 

29The court will now adjourn until 10.30.

‑ ‑ ‑