A financial adviser has pleaded guilty to stealing approximately $3 million in investor funds and shares.
Andrew Robinson, 42, the principal of mortgage broking and insurance firm Strategic Planning Group, appeared in the High Court at Auckland on Wednesday morning where he pleaded guilty to four charges of theft by a personal in a special relationship, one of improperly dealing with funds and one charge of fraudulently using a document.
He pleaded guilty to stealing about $2.5 million of Strategic Planning Group investor funds, and three other counts of stealing $50,000 to $258,000 from four named people.
Robinson was a registered financial adviser until being stripped of this status when the Serious Fraud Office and Financial Markets Authority began investigating.
Between 2010 and 2012, Robinson used $3m in investor funds to pay for personal and business expenses or to repay other investors, and lied to investors when proving reports.
He was remanded in custody to a disputed facts hearing in June. Robinson and Mark Turnock, a co-director of Strategic Planning Group, also face charges brought by the FMA relating to making false statements.
Source: Stuff News. Published 13 May 2015
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/68505855/Financial-advisor-stole-3-million-from-investors
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