Financial planner Jonathan West jailed for 3 years for defrauding clients

Thursday 12th May 2016

A financial planner who defrauded clients of $1.4 million in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions has been sentenced to three years in prison at the Tauranga District Court.

Former banker Jonathan Graham West, 60, had pleaded guilty in March to five charges under the Crime Act of 'Theft by person in a special relationship'.

West had been a director of the Investment Centre Limited and Matrix Futures Limited between 1994 and 2013 offering financial planning, the implementation of investment strategies and investment reporting. However between 2009 and 2013 he began to use clients funds either for his own purposes or for their benefit but outside the agreed terms. West was a registered financial service provider between 2011 and 2012.

The charges were brought by the Serious Fraud Office. Director Julie Read said investors should monitor the activities of their advisors.

“While investors are entitled to expect high standards of conduct from investment advisers who owe a duty of trust to their clients, it is also important that investors take care to protect themselves," she said. "Investors should ask questions of their advisers about where their money will be invested and on what terms and they should closely monitor their investments asking for copies of all relevant documentation.”

BusinessDesk.co.nz

Comments from our readers

No comments yet