Markets 
An Australian financial trader who once described the investment scheme he was involved in as “bigger than” The Wolf of Wall Street sobbed after he was sentenced to at least two years in prison for embezzling nearly $700,000 in client funds.
For years, Stavro D’Amore – the muscle-bound boss of one of Australia’s largest trading houses – cut an intimidating figure, frequently highlighting his gangland connections and flashy lifestyle, including owning several luxury McLaren cars each worth more than $500,000.
But upon learning his sentence relating to the collapse of Berndale Securities late last month, D’Amore was reduced to a quivering mess.
His sentence, which in total was three years and 10 months with a minimum of 23 months in jail, came after he pleaded guilty to three rolled-up dishonesty charges on the eve of his criminal trial in the Federal Court.
D’Amore, who was once close to underworld figure Mick Gatto, was taken away by Australian Federal Police officers after being allowed to kiss and hug his equally teary 20-something girlfriend.
D’Amore once oversaw one of the largest sellers of high-risk financial products that allow people to bet on the stock market or on the prices of other assets like gold.
Berndale collapsed in 2018 amid an investigation by the corporate watchdog, wiping out nearly $9 million of funds invested by people across Australia.
In February 2025, the liquidator of Berndale – which borrowed heavily from Gatto’s confidant “Fat Ange” Venditti before its collapse – distributed a first and final dividend of 4.5 cents in the dollar to victims.
The court heard D’Amore embezzled $681,496.98 of clients’ money, using it to fund his own lifestyle and to make huge payments to people who had no connection to Berndale.
This included transferring $250,000 to associates of then-jailed gangland boss Tony Mokbel for the purchase of two luxury Gold Coast apartments.
D’Amore also used Berndale money, the court heard, on a deposit for his apartment in the complex before assigning the contract for sale to the son of a lawyer with extensive ties to organised crime.
Other money was transferred out to D’Amore personally, to his brother Mario D’Amore and to competitive bodybuilder, Jonas Vong – a Berndale executive who liquidators’ examinations heard in 2020 has an acquired brain injury.
There is no suggestion Mokbel, Venditti or Gatto had any involvement in the operation of Berndale or knowledge of D’Amore’s offending. Vong and Mario D’Amore have also never been accused of any wrongdoing.
Justice Wendy Abraham said D’Amore’s offending had an impact on Berndale’s clients and the broader financial markets given Berndale was regulated and held an Australian financial services licence (AFSL).
“The transfer was dishonest because it enabled Mr D’Amore to gain an advantage for himself using … company funds to which he knew he was not entitled,” Abraham said.
“It was ongoing conduct over the course of nearly two years. Mr D’Amore’s disregard for the regulatory obligations imposed by the Corporations Act on AFSL holders, his fiduciary obligations as a director and the interests of Berndale’s clients, was deliberate and blatant.
“Mr D’Amore stood at the apex of the Berndale companies’ management structure.”
Berndale’s ties to colourful characters was outlined at a public examination of the group’s collapse in 2020, and as part of an investigation by this masthead.
The examinations also revealed Berndale, which was formerly known as Forex TG, had links to other international trading schemes that stood accused of misusing investor money.
This included that one of Forex TG’s former directors was Yossi Herzog, who is wanted in the United States on securities fraud.
Another man, Aviv Talmor, who was D’Amore’s business partner at Forex TG and later Berndale, is serving a five-year sentence in Israel over his involvement in a dodgy trading scheme.
It was during this examination that D’Amore was asked about visiting Talmor’s office in Tel Aviv, describing it as “bigger than” The Wolf of Wall Street.
D’Amore’s shock at his sentence came after a significant bid by his legal team for a non-custodial sentence for his offending.
His lawyers told the court that D’Amore had suffered from drug and gambling addictions, as well as other mental health issues including anxiety.
D’Amore’s lawyers had also attempted to persuade the judge that his co-accused and former business partner, Daniel Kirby, who was sentenced to a 12-month stint in jail last year, had been the ringleader of the misconduct.
Instead, Abraham scolded D’Amore for seeking to minimise his offending.
“I accept that Mr D’Amore has attempted to minimise his offending conduct. That is, his explanations provide justifications or excuses for the conduct, which are intended to lessen his culpability,” she said.
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Sarah Danckert is a senior reporter who specialises in investigations and corporate wrongdoing. She is a two-time Walkley Award winner, and has won six Quill Awards and two Kennedy Awards.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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