A businessman who promised a "pot of gold at the end of a rainbow" is in custody awaiting sentencing after swindling millions of dollars from investors.
Chris Marco was convicted of 43 fraud charges after illegally accepting more than $34 million from six clients and falsely promising healthy returns from investment schemes that did not exist.
The 67-year-old told his victims he was an experienced private investor with exclusive financial opportunities similar to fixed-term deposits, the Western Australian Supreme Court was told.
But in reality, he was an "illusionist" who used investors' money to pay returns to other clients, prosecutor Steven Whybrow said during the five-week trial.
Marco used word-of-mouth referrals and introductions, and accountants who had spotted the healthy retu