Adviser pleads guilty to fraud

A Palmerston North-based financial adviser has pleaded guilty to 21 counts of fraud in a prosecution brought by the Serious Fraud Office.

Friday, February 13th 2004, 12:26AM

by Jenny Ruth

The total of 28 charges against William Richard Dean Gibson, 52, included forging a document, theft by misappropriation, obtaining by a false pretences and using a document to commit fraud.

According to the New Zealand Herald, among his victims was a 2000 first division Lotto winner who was referred to Gibson for investment advice by a friend. Gibson had been offering financial services and investment advice in Palmerston North for a number of years though his firm, Williams Guarantee Manawatu, which changed its name to Pacific Asset Management.

Although she had never owned shares before, the winner paid Gibson $217,457.94 for a share portfolio in October 2000 and asked that some of the money go to buy Hallenstein shares. But when she later noticed no Hallenstein shares were in the portfolio she asked him for an explanation.

He told her none of that stock had been bought and a $20,025.50 "insufficiency" was a brokerage fee. But she had already been charged the usual brokerage fee for the other shares.

"The funds were taken by the defendant for his own use, contrary to the direction of [his client] to purchase Hallensteins shares," the SFO’s summary said.

Another client’s $250,000 was used by Beckfield Trust – of which Gibson was a trustee – to buy an apartment for Gibson to live in. Gibson told a third client "a sad story" about his financial position and requested loans of $250,000 secured over his apartment and a $300,000 unsecured loan.

Gibson will be sentenced on February 19.

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