Former Billabong CEO Matthew Perrin will appeal his conviction after he was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment on Friday for faking his ex-wife's signature to get a $13.5 million loan.
The 44-year-old was convicted of three counts of fraud and six of forgery after a week-long trial in Brisbane District Court in December last year.
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Former Billabong CEO jailed
Ex-Billabong CEO Matthew Perrin is been sentenced to eight years in jail for fraud.
The deception came undone in 2009 when Perrin made a dramatic confession at an emergency family meeting revealing he had "lost everything".
"I'm going to jail, I've done a lot of bad things," Perrin cried.
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The jury had been unable to decide on three further forgery charges.
On Friday, Crown prosecutor Glenn Cash told the court approximately $4 million had been recovered to the Commonwealth Bank after it was defrauded of the $13.5 million.
Perrin was sentenced to eight years for three counts of fraud, six years for four counts of forgery and seven years for two further counts of forgery.
He will serve them concurrently and is eligible for parole in four years.
Perrin made $57 million from his investment in Billabong before he resigned as CEO in 2003. By 2009, he was declared bankrupt, the court was told.
Judge Julie Dick said Perrin turned to criminal activities to "stay afloat" and she found it "disturbing" he had persisted with the prosecution of his ex-wife Nicole Bricknell in relation to the confession note Perrin denied writing.
"You did express remorse initially, particularly in front of friends and family in ... 2009, unfortunately that remorse has dissipated over time and you opted to have a trial in this matter," she said.
"You seem simply to refuse to recognise that it was you who forged the documents and you who presented them to the bank."
Judge Dick said Perrin's non-existent criminal history and good standing in the community were hallmarks of white collar crime in Australia.
"The position of trust of the offender is one reason why the offences are difficult to detect," she said.
"Offences such as these where fraud is committed on an institution, large or small, strike at the heart of commercial integrity."
Perrin's lawyer Nathan Hounsell told Fairfax Media an appeal had been already filed on January 13.
Perrin had forged his former wife's signature to mortgage his family's $15 million property in Surfers Paradise in 2008 without her permission. She owned the home.
Ms Bricknell said she had never given him the authority to sign on her behalf.
"This man has taken from me and my children without my permission and knowledge, that's worse than having an affair in my opinion," she said during her evidence last year.
- with AAP