SPG and SPGI director pleads guilty to FMA charges

Media release
MR No. 2015 – 46
30 September 2015

Former company director and financial adviser, Andrew Hrothgar Robinson, has today pleaded guilty to charges brought by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), relating to his involvement as director of Strategic Planning Group Limited (SPG) and SPG Investment Company No.1 Limited (SPGI).

Mr Robinson appeared in the Auckland High Court today and pleaded guilty to charges laid under the Financial Reporting Act, the Financial Advisers Act and the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act.

The charges relate to Mr Robinson providing a broking service without being registered, and knowingly making a false statement in his application to become an Authorised Financial Adviser (AFA) under the Financial Advisers Act.

He also pleaded guilty to two charges under the Financial Reporting Act of making false statements in the SPGI financial statements.  

The charges follow investigations by the FMA and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into the activities of SPG and SPGI, which began in 2012.

Mr Robinson will be sentenced on 27 October 2015.

In July this year Mr Robinson was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for fraud charges taken by the SFO.

ENDS

Contact:
Shae Skellern
021 847 192
09 300 0465
[email protected]

Background

The investigation into SPG and SPGI began in December 2012 when the FMA received a complaint with allegations about Mr Robinson’s management of client funds through SPG.

The FMA preserved investors’ funds by requesting that the bank accounts of Mr Robinson and SPG be frozen. Mr Robinson’s status as an AFA was terminated in December 2012. The FMA referred the Crimes Act issues to the SFO and the agencies conducted parallel investigations.

Mr Robinson stole investor funds of approximately $3 million to repay the investments of other investors and to pay for some business and personal expenses between 2010 and 2012. Mr Robinson also made false statements in various investment reports to hide the true picture from investors.