Media release
MR No. 2017 – 31
13 July 2017
A former registered financial adviser who forged clients’ initials and falsely amended insurance applications has been sentenced to 150 hours of community work, 6 months community detention and ordered to pay reparations of $16,461.24.
Anthony Wilson had earlier pleaded guilty to a total of four charges under the Crimes Act brought by the Financial Markets Authority at the Auckland District Court.
Wilson admitted three charges of making a false document for pecuniary advantage and one charge of dishonestly using a document for pecuniary advantage.
Wilson submitted three applications for insurance in circumstances where he had forged clients’ initials, and in one of those cases he had falsely amended the application form. The admitted conduct related to the disclosure of pre-existing medical conditions.
Wilson’s actions led to the insurer avoiding a claim for medical insurance on the basis of a breach of duty of good faith. Judge Black described this as a “profound” aggravating factor, which had caused “significant distress and hardship”.
Nick Kynoch, General Counsel at the FMA, said “As Judge Black noted in sentencing, the offending was an abuse of trust that was clearly premeditated, occurring on more than one occasion. The relationship between clients and advisers is based on trust and this is critical to the integrity of the sector.”
Ends
Contact:
Edwin Mitson
Ph: 021 702 036
[email protected]
Related
Case: Anthony Norman Wilson