A Rotorua financial adviser has pleaded guilty to stealing about $1 million from her elderly clients.
Linnet Bernadine Lewis, 55, pleaded guilty in the High Court at Rotorua this morning to 16 counts of theft by a person in a special relationship. Her trial was to have begun today.
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) prosecutor Fletcher Pilditch did not proceed with five forgery charges and five charges of using a document for pecuniary advantage, which Lewis had previously denied.
He indicated those 10 charges may be formally withdrawn after Lewis is sentenced.
In 2004, Lewis set up a business to assist people to manage their financial affairs. She acted as her clients' agent or as a trustee for her clients' trusts, thereby gaining complete control over her clients' assets.
She used that control to steal from her clients, who were predominantly retirees, in some instances using forged documents to commit the offences. Between 2005 and 2011 she stole approximately $1 million.
Rotorua police referred an investigation into the affairs of Lewis and her associated entities to the Serious Fraud Office in June 2012.
The SFO and the Financial Markets Authority worked together at the initial phase of the investigation and determined it was appropriate for the SFO to commence the criminal prosecution.
Criminal charges were laid against Lewis in November 2013.
"Ms Lewis has committed a serious breach of trust against her clients, many of whom were vulnerable, elderly people with reduced capacity to manage their own affairs. The SFO is committed to prosecuting such offences which have the capacity to damage New Zealand's reputation as a safe place to invest and do business," said SFO director Julie Read.
The names of Lewis' victims were suppressed by the court.
Lewis was remanded on bail until June 19 when she will be sentenced.