Brendan
Gunn, a former executive who led major CFD and forex brokerages in Australia,
pleaded guilty today (Tuesday) to dealing with more than AUD 181,000 suspected
to be proceeds from investment scams.
Gunn
admitted in court that he handled two bank cheques containing funds from victim
investors who had deposited money for cryptocurrency conversions and other
investment opportunities. The 53-year-old Brisbane resident served as finance
director of Mormarkets Pty Ltd when the alleged offenses occurred between March
and May 2020.
The guilty
plea follows charges filed by ASIC
in March 2025 after
a lengthy investigation into suspected international scams targeting
Australians. Gunn appeared at the Downing Centre Local Court, where he and
prosecutors agreed to handle sentencing at the local level rather than in
district court.
Banks Shut Down Accounts
Repeatedly
Banks
closed multiple Mormarkets accounts due to fraud concerns while Gunn was
directing the company. Despite receiving repeated notifications about
suspicious activity, Gunn continued opening new accounts to receive and
transfer deposits.
When two
Mormarkets bank accounts were shuttered in early 2020, Gunn received the bank
cheques totaling AUD 181,000 from four separate investment amounts made by
three victims. He then sent those cheques to an associate, according to his
admission in court.
The company
promoted itself as providing cryptocurrency conversions and access to overseas
investment opportunities for Australian depositors. ASIC’s investigation found
the funds were linked to suspected cross-border scams.
CFD Industry Links
Gunn built
a career in Australia’s CFD and forex industry before his involvement with
Mormarkets. He spent six years at GAIN Capital’s Forex.com brand, serving as
Director of Global Client Services for the Asia-Pacific region from 2006 to
2013.
In 2013,
Japanese broker Invast Securities tapped Gunn to establish and lead its
Australian subsidiary. As
CEO of Invast Financial Services, he secured the company’s AFSL
license from ASIC and built a sales team of more than 25 professionals.
The firm
grew into one of the region’s larger retail trading operations during his
tenure, which lasted until 2015.
After
leaving Invast, Gunn founded advisory services and later took on the role of
director at Mormarkets starting in 2019.
In 2018, he was also briefly
associated with GMT Markets, which launched retail trading services that
year.
Sentencing Looms Next
Month
Gunn faces
a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment, a fine of AUD 12,600, or both under
local court sentencing guidelines. The matter returns to Downing Centre Local
Court on February 10 to schedule a sentencing date.
The
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is handling the case following the
investigation by ASIC.
This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
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