A Sydney businessman has pleaded guilty to allegations that he fleeced money from members of Hillsong church to fund an illegal investment scheme.
Robert John Orehek, 44, of Castle Hill, pleaded guilty in the Sydney District Court yesterday to two charges of fraudulently misappropriating $170,000.
In 2002 Orehek issued debenture notes without product disclosure statements to 27 investors who he met at the high-profile Hillsong church in Sydney's north-west.
At the time he was the sole director and shareholder of Norton Investments Pty Ltd, a group of private companies that raised mezzanine finance for waterfront real estate developments in Sydney suburbs that included Mosman, Fairlight and Rose Bay.
Nearly all investors lost their money to a total of $2.6 million.
The corporate regulator alleges that Orehek also raised more than $20 million by issuing deeds of loan to over 200 investors for the failed scheme.
None of the proposed developments were ever completed and all of the companies in the Orehek group are now in liquidation, ASIC said.
A third offence of alleged misappropriation of $20,000 may be taken into account for the purposes of sentencing.
Last month Orehek pleaded guilty to one charge of illegally issuing securities.
The case has been put over for sentencing on 12 July 2007 in the NSW District Court.
The charges follow the recent collapse of property development group Fincorp, which also traded in debenture notes. It owes 7800 retail investors around $200 million.
