Perth accountant Vittorio Letizia has appeared in Perth Magistrates’ Court charged with five counts of insider trading.
The charges are in relation to purchases made in Genesis Minerals Limited shares in September 2021, with Mr Letizia facing court on Friday, December 20, 2024.
ASIC alleges that Mr Letizia engaged in insider trading on five occasions in September 2021 when he purchased Genesis shares while in possession of inside information.
The matter is next listed for mention at the Perth Magistrates Court on January 31, 2025, and will be prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Trading while in possession of inside information is punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment or the greater of $999,000 or three times the benefit derived.
Mr Letizia, who sometimes goes by Vic, is a director at Letizia Palmer Chartered Accountants in Mount Lawley and has extensive experience working throughout regional Western Australia.
He was also on the Heart and Lung Transplant Foundation of WA committee as of June 30, 2023, according to official filed documents, although any reference to Mr Letizia been removed from the foundation’s website.
Mr Letizia was a part owner of boutique yoghurt and cheesemaker Casa Dairy from 2005 – which was sold to Brownes Dairy in 2012 – alongside his brother Frank Letizia, for an undisclosed amount.
Vittorio had previously worked as an accountant for the likes of BHP and PwC.
The charges come after well-connected Perth corporate advisor Cameron Waugh was sentenced to nine months in prison after he was found to have prior knowledge of Genesis Minerals' September 2021 $20.8 million funding package and board appointments.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission launched the investigation into Mr Waugh after suspecting he traded shares with insider knowledge he gained while working at Nev Power and Nick Power's company Omnia.
Mr Waugh pleaded guilty to one charge of acquiring more than 747,000 Genesis Minerals shares while in possession of inside information in the Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court.
