Overview
Brendan Gunn, a former finance director and director of Mormarkets Pty Ltd (trading as Coinshype), has been sentenced in the NSW Local Court for dealing with $181,000 that was reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime connected to an offshore cryptocurrency investment scam targeting Australians.
The sentence
Gunn received a 12-month prison sentence. He was released immediately on entering a recognizance of $3,000 requiring good behaviour for 12 months. ASIC describes this as the maximum sentence available for this type of summary prosecution.
The offence
The offence is listed under section 400.9(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth). The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) following a referral from ASIC. Gunn pleaded guilty in January 2026.
Background on Mormarkets and Coinshype
Mormarkets accepted deposits from Australians for cryptocurrency and other purported investments between January 2019 and May 2020. The business opened 22 bank accounts across six financial institutions. All accounts were eventually closed by the banks following fraud complaints.
Despite being warned repeatedly by banks about suspicious activity in Mormarkets accounts, Gunn forwarded two bank cheques totalling $181,000 to an associate after the accounts were closed.
ASIC's broader anti-scam activity
ASIC describes this case as part of its broader anti-scam work. Related recent actions noted by ASIC include:
- A $35 million penalty against HSBC for failures in scam protections.
- Cancellation of Capital Guard's AFS licence.
- Removal of more than 25,000 investment scam and phishing websites since 2023 through ASIC's website takedown service.
ScamWatch and ReportCyber recorded 60,657 combined scam reports with $248.3 million in losses in the first three months of 2026.
Key actions
- Businesses that accept customer funds for investments or cryptocurrency can check ASIC's investment scam warnings page at asic.gov.au for information on current known scams.
- Moneysmart at moneysmart.gov.au provides detailed information on investment scam types including cryptocurrency scams, impostor bond scams, and superannuation scams.
This is a plain-English summary for information only, not legal or compliance advice. Always check the official source or consult a qualified professional.