Adviser sentenced for Ponzi

A Christchurch man who defrauded his clients of at least $17.5 million through a Ponzi scheme has been sentenced to eight years in prison with a minimum non-parole period of four years for charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office.

Paul Hibbs was sentenced at the Christchurch District Court. He previously had pleaded guilty to charges of ‘False statement by promoter’, ‘Theft by person in special relationship’, ‘Using forged documents’ and ‘Forgery’.

Hibbs owned and operated Cameron Gladstone Investments Limited and Hansa Limited. Through these entities he provided clients with false investment reports and used their funds for unauthorised activities, which included using the proceeds from sales of clients’ investments to pay other investors.  Hibbs also used client money for business expenses, including paying dividends, and for personal purposes.

He targeted his services at high-net-worth clients.