A former financial adviser has pleaded guilty after misappropriating $1.7 million from two sets of “elderly clients” and issuing false statements to cover up the fraud.
Murray McClune pleaded guilty to two charges of theft by a person in a special relationship under the Crimes Act 1961 following an investigation by the Financial Markets Authority.
He had worked in the insurance industry since the late 1960s and had an established book of clients, including some who had used his services for decades and considered him a friend.
Between 2016 and 2022, McClune procured around $1.7 million from two sets of elderly clients on the basis he would invest the funds on their behalf.
The FMA investigation found he used some of those funds for his own personal purposes and issued false statements to cover his tracks.
His offending was detected when he was unable to repay the funds on demand.
FMA head of enforcement Margot Gatland said McClune took advantage of elderly, vulnerable investors with which he had a close relationship to misappropriate their funds.
“New Zealand’s financial system relies on trust, transparency and fairness. In addition to being devastating to the victims, offending of this nature undermines public confidence in registered advisers and harms their reputations.
She said the FMA would respond to serious misconduct of this type where required and to the “fullest extent of the law”.
Theft by a person in a special relationship carried a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment.