A former stock market trader has told a Sydney court how he and his investment banker friend used the profits from an insider trading scam to fund a luxury lifestyle in their early 20s.
John Hartman, the crown’s star witness at the trial of Oliver Curtis, did not look at his former friend as he testified that profits from the illegal trades were allegedly spent on a shared $3,000-per-week Bondi Beach unit and associated living expenses, a BMW and motorcycle for Hartman, and skiing trips to Whistler.
The jury at the supreme court was shown a series of emails between Curtis and Hartman discussing how the Bondi flat was to be secured with a year’s rent up-front – about $150,000.
“I knew that Ollie was going to pay for the full amount of the rent from the profits that were made,” Hartman told the court.
He agreed with crown prosecutor David Staehli, SC, that the pair generated the funds by trading together according to their plan – which allegedly involved Hartman revealing to Curtis confidential insider share trading tips gained in his position as an employee of investment fund manager Orion Asset Management.
Curtis, 30, who has been supported during the trial by his wife Roxy Jacenko, founder of the Sweaty Betty PR company, is alleged to have made 45 trades to a profit of $1.43m between May 2007 and June 2008 based on Hartman’s information.
The former analyst at Ocean Securities denies a charge of conspiracy to commit insider trading.
Hartman testified that the pair, who were best friends after growing up together in Mosman on Sydney’s North Shore, egged each other on and used encrypted Blackberry messages, with Hartman “pinning” his friend detailed advice on trades to make.
In a Sydney bar frequented by brokers and young bankers in late 2007 they discussed how they’d be in “a lot of trouble” if they were found out, the court heard.
On another occasion Curtis said his accountant had been asking questions about a money transfer to Hartman.
“He said if I was asked by anybody, to say it was a loan,” Hartman said.
Hartman served 15 months for admitting insider trading.