Following a year of investigation, the Australia Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) finally nailed down Shawn Richard, former director of Astarra Asset Management PTY Limited (AAM), as he pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two charges of dishonest conduct in his role as investment manager of the Astarra Stategic Fund (ASF) and Astarra Superannuation Plan (ASP). Richard also admitted to a third charge of making false statements to lure investors to apply units in ASF.

Tracing Richard’s conduct way back 2005, the ASIC gathered enough information to prove Richard’s role as the facilitator of an elaborate scam under the control of Hong Kong–based American Jack Flader. Richard allegedly followed Flader’s instructions to implement the scheme as he assumed varying capacities in the different financial services companies he worked with.

On its official site, ASIC says that it alleged, among others, that Richard used his positions to arrange the “transfer of Australian investors’ monies from managed investment schemes and superannuation funds to overseas funds controlled by Flader.” Out of all these, Richard raked in profits of over $1.3 million on top of his disclosed net annual salary of $113,326 as an ASF investment manager. AAM also earned $5.3 million from the arrangement.

ASIC also alleged that Richard made “materially misleading statements about the value of the ASF’s investments in the overseas hedge funds” to further encourage investments.

Apart from facing a maximum penalty of 5-year jail term for each charge or a $220,000 fine, or both, an enforceable undertaking entered into by Richard with the ASIC also effectively banned him for life from providing any financial services.