Investors Appalled at Light Sentence for Fraudster David Ross

Hundreds of RAM Investors who have been fleeced of their life savings by fraudster David Ross are surprised at the light sentence given to him today. Ross, with breath-taking callousness, perpetrated the biggest Ponzi fraud in New Zealand’s history, involving approximately $450 million. Yet he has been sentenced to only 5 years and 5 months in jail without parole.

It appears Ross has only been charged on limited evidence and the possibility that he committed much greater fraud seems to have been ignored. Further, his sentence seems far too light when compared with international practice.

His sentence is not an adequate disincentive to others; in fact it is arguably a positive incentive to others to commit white collar fraud in future. It is another sad step in the run of dozens of recent financial collapses and fraud cases in New Zealand that clearly show investors do not have adequate regulatory protection.

This light sentence says that New Zealand puts little value of professionalism. Hundreds of investors gave Ross their trust and put faith in his professional record and ability. He betrayed them totally. Unless such lack of professionalism is punished properly, there can be little protection provided by the standing of any professional, be they a financial adviser, a doctor, a judge or a regulator.

Despite his offending being at the very top end of the scale, the RAM investors believe Ross was undercharged. The authorities could have and should have laid more charges, even on the limited evidence they had gathered, so that the Judge had the ability to give a more appropriate sentence. We note that the equivalent Ponzi committed by Bernard Madoff in the USA, drew him a sentence of 150 years, or about 25 times as great as given to Ross. The sentence for Ross says to others ‘do your fraud and you can be out in time to enjoy the money you hid away’. The sentence given to Madoff by the USA court says to fraudsters there ‘you had plenty of opportunity to hide away money but you won’t get the chance to enjoy it’.

The RAM investors have been told little, but it appears a comprehensive forensic audit of Ross’s activities has not been performed by the authorities.

This means nobody except Ross knows if he laundered away and hid money, or how much. While we do not wish to accuse Ross of laundering or collaborating with others if he did not, it is impossible to judge if the sentence he has received is fair until all the evidence of all potential crime is fully evaluated. Ross had every opportunity to launder money, and if he did not launder then he spent 20 years running a huge business for no personal gain. Can we believe he had no personal superannuation scheme? Already one stash of assets has been found by chance, debunking any claim by Ross that he would “cooperate fully with all inquiries”.

Any offer by Ross of reparations will provide minuscule relief to investors, and any reparations cannot be judged until all the evidence has been evaluated.

David Ross ran a cold, calculated swindle for at least a dozen years and maybe as many as 20 years. He presented himself as knowledgeable and professional, showing great concern for client’s family circumstances, socialising with them, and throwing parties for them. Yet all the time he was living the most atrocious charade, destroying the nest eggs and hopes that hundreds of hard working New Zealanders had spent a life time putting together.

It is incumbent on the authorities to do a full audit of Ross’s business dealings, and lay all reasonable charges against him. Only then can his horrible crime be properly evaluated and investors and the public know if he has been fairly sentenced.

ENDS

© Scoop Media