The sentencing of Nicholas James Ellis has been deferred for almost 12 months after the matter was mentioned briefly in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Friday, June 8.
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In August 2017, the former director of Tura Pty which owned the Tura Tavern before it went into liquidation, pleaded guilty to fraud charges following negotiations with prosecutors.
A spokeswoman for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, who is prosecuting the matter, said Ellis made false and misleading statements to a number of his clients with the intended purpose of raising funds for the purchase of the Tura Beach Tavern and associated equipment and licences.
However, rather than use the money for its intended purpose, the prosecutors said he misappropriated more than $500,000 of his clients’ funds for his own purposes.
Mr Ellis was charged with fraudulently dealing with funds; making false statement to obtain money; and dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception.
The maximum term of imprisonment for obtaining money by false and misleading statements is five years and for fraudulent misappropriation, seven years.
He was initially to be sentenced in April, but in the Downing Centre District Court on Friday it was relisted for sentencing over two days from April 29, 2019. Bail conditions were unchanged.