Chris Marco, a 65-year-old West Australian businessman, along with his former personal assistant, Linda Marissen, pleaded not guilty to a series of fraud charges in a Perth court on Wednesday. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has accused Marco of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme through AMS Holdings (WA) Pty Ltd, defrauding nine investors of approximately $36.5 million between July 2013 and October 2018. Marissen faces 34 separate charges linked to her alleged participation in the scheme.
Both defendants, represented by lawyers Luka Margaretic and Gerald Yin, will remain on bail until their initial appearance in the WA Supreme Court on November 6. The case, currently supported by around 160,000 documents, carries a maximum penalty of seven to ten years imprisonment per fraud offence, based on the age of the victims. Trial dates are yet to be scheduled.
