The High Court of Western Australia sentenced Chris Marco to 14 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after 12 years.
Mr Marco was sentenced today by the Honorable Justice Whitby after a jury found Mr Marco guilty on 4 September 2025 of 43 offenses of defrauding six investors totaling more than $34 million.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) alleged that between July 2013 and October 2018, Mr Marco obtained more than $36.5 million from nine investors with intent to defraud, by fraud or fraudulent means.
In July 2022, Mr Marco was initially charged with 50 counts of fraud under section 409(1)(a) of the Criminal Code (WA). The matter proceeded to trial on 43 counts of fraud listed in the indictment.
On September 4, 2025, a jury found Mr. Marco guilty of 43 counts of fraud involving six investors and a total of $34,332,453. Mr. Marco’s former executive assistant, Linda Marissen, was acquitted of all fraud charges.
The criminal charges followed earlier Federal Court proceedings against Mr Marco and the company he previously managed, AMS Holdings (WA) Pty Ltd. service business without an Australian Financial Services Licence or operating an unregistered managed investment scheme.
Mr. Marco’s total effective sentence is 14 years in prison. He will be eligible for parole two years before his sentence ends. Mr. Marco will serve 12 years before being eligible for parole no earlier than 2037. Mr. Marco’s sentence was overturned on September 4, 2025 (the date he was paroled after the jury’s guilty verdict).