An arrest warrant was issued for Kenneth Charles Grace on Thursday after he failed to show up in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court and his lawyers were unable to contact him.
He was due to be sentenced after pleading guilty to six charges of dishonest conduct in relation to his Goldsky investment fund.
Police confirmed Grace, 58, was found dead in a Sydney city centre motel just after 1pm on Thursday, the day of his scheduled court appearance.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.Â
The investment fund directed by Grace was the subject of Federal Court proceedings in 2020 and a case in the Queensland Supreme Court, finalised in February.
Known as the Goldsky Global Access Fund, it was forced into liquidation in 2018 after allegations Grace, as the sole director, was using investors' funds for himself and running a Ponzi scheme.
Former Olympic swimmer Sam Riley and Olympic cyclist Robbie McEwen were among a long list of investors owed money by the former car dealer, who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle before the fund went bust.
During the Federal Court case, Grace said he moved money from the hedge fund into a bank account he ran with his wife.
He told the court he did not advise clients that he was moving the money into his personal account but he had not lost any of their funds.
Grace's expenditure included renting a luxury Sydney Harbour home with its own skippered motorboat "so he could clear his head" in the months before the fund folded.
At least $24 million remains unaccounted for since Goldsky's collapse.
Grace had claimed he was the victim of cyber crime and accused the fund's liquidators of not trying hard enough to find the cash.
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