Fraudster analyst denied bail

Benjamin Anthony Kiro this morning plead guilty to 23 forgery charges, use of a forged document and theft by a person in a special relationship.

A former Financial Markets Authority analyst who falsified his CV to get that job has been denied bail.

Benjamin Anthony Kiro was convicted after pleading guilty to 23 charges at Auckland District Court this week, including forgery, use of a forged document, theft by a person in a special relationship and obtaining money by deception.

He applied for electronically-monitored bail this morning, appearing via audio-visual link from prison.

Judge Sarah Fleming swiftly rejected the bid as the defendant sat with his head in his hands.Further details of the hearing are unable to be published until sentencing.

Kiro forged his academic record from Australian universities and used a false curriculum vitae to obtain employment with the FMA in 2014. He worked at the capital markets regulator for around three months.

Kiro also convinced women he met on online dating sites such as Tinder, or businessmen introduced to him by associates, to invest in companies soon to list on the stock exchange.

Police say the funds given to him, totalling $330,000, were never invested.Kiro also obtained $20,000 by deception.

The 35-year-old has now been remanded in custody ahead of his sentencing in April.

According to court documents, Kiro used a forged Fonterra employment contract to obtain a tenancy for an apartment on Gore St, in Auckland's central business district.

It is understood that Kiro lived in the apartment for a short time in 2014.

Kiro, according to court documents, also falsified an offer of employment from AMP Capital as head of investment operations and a contract with AMP Capital in his own name with a $146,000 salary.

As well as this, he also falsified a letter of employment for BT Financial Group.

The FMA could not comment until Kiro had been sentenced.