Former director Timothy John McKenzie has been sentenced in the Victorian County Court of Victoria to four years’ jail after pleading guilty to charges brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Last October, Mr McKenzie, who is a former director of EBS Consulting and EBS Holdings, pleaded guilty to three charges of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and two charges of theft.

He will serve a minimum non-parole period of 18 months.

Mr McKenzie admitted that between December 2003 and June 2004 he obtained a financial advantage for EBS Holdings by raising about $990,000 in premiums from customers who had sought to insure financed computer equipment.

ASIC charged him with falsely representing that an insurance company had underwritten the policies.

Mr McKenzie also admitted that he had obtained a financial advantage for EBS Consulting of approximately $3.6 million in insurance premium payments by falsely representing the terms and the period of the insurance, and the amount of premiums payable to Lloyd’s.

He also pleaded guilty to stealing about $440,000 of company funds.