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Sentenced for theft of client funds
Sentenced for theft of client funds
Linnet Lewis
has today been sentenced to five years and five months’
imprisonment in the High Court at Rotorua.
Ms Lewis pleaded guilty to 16 charges of theft by a person in a special relationship in May 2015.
A Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation resulted in criminal charges being laid against Ms Lewis in November 2013.
In 2004, Ms 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. Ms Lewis used the confidence placed in her by her clients to steal from them, in some instances using forged documents to commit the offences. Between 2005 and 2011 she stole approximately one million dollars.
SFO Director, Julie Read said, “The sentence reflects the egregious breach of trust perpetrated by Ms Lewis upon vulnerable clients. It also sends a message to those who might contemplate acting in a way that undermines confidence in New Zealand as a safe place to invest and do business that there may be serious consequences for such misconduct.”
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