Jail for Sydney financial fraudster who scammed families out of $20 million
In short:
Mansa Group director Krishnakumar Sitaram Agrawal has been sentenced to more than four years in jail after swindling dozens of mum-and-dad investors.
Mr Agrawal scammed Western Sydney families out of $20 million as part of a dodgy property development scheme.
What's next?
ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court says the sentence "will be welcomed" by those caught up in his "dishonest behaviour".
A self-proclaimed property developer who scammed Western Sydney families out of more than $20 million has been sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison.
Mansa Group director Krishnakumar Sitaram Agrawal was convicted of using false documents to obtain a financial advantage and dishonestly using his position as a director with the intention to gain advantage and cause detriment in the NSW District Court on Friday.
His sentence started on Friday and he will not be eligible for parole before February 6, 2029.
The ABC reported in 2023 that Agrawal had leaned on friends and associates for significant chunks of money, saying the funds would be used to develop properties, and promised healthy returns.
Krishnakumar Agrawal will spend more than four years in jail. (Supplied)
It was believed more than 150 mum-and-dad investors were swindled by the former financial advisor.
"Everything is messed up," one vulnerable investor told the ABC at that time.
Agrawal's convictions were the result of an ASIC investigation, which found that between 2017 and 2023 he removed directors and shareholders within the Mansa Group without their knowledge.
The corporate watchdog also found Agrawal obtained loans from third party lenders under false pretences, and used the loans for the benefit of other corporations he ran.
"Mr Agrawal betrayed the trust of people within his social and cultural circles,"ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said.
"This sentence will be welcomed by those who invested significant amounts of money with Mr Agrawal after being caught up in his dishonest behaviour."
Mansa Group sat above a complex web of 27 companies which are all now in voluntary administration or liquidation.