Investment agent admits $580,000 fraud

An investment agent today admitted defrauding investors out of more than half a million dollars.

Geoffrey Adams, 41, was remanded in custody for two months to await sentencing after pleading guilty to 11 charges of obtaining money by deception, and two charges of forgery.

Christchurch District Court was told that Adams was employed by a mutual insurance company as an agent in Greymouth when he used investors' funds "to pay out other investors as they retired and for his personal lifestyle".

Police said reparation of $580,000 was being sought, and defence counsel Tim Fournier said repayment of $44,000 had already been made.

He handed up character references and a doctor's letter and said Adams had obtained a job on Monday and could pay $250 a week towards reparation.

Judge Michael Crosbie refused bail pending the sentencing saying that it was large scale offending of a significant amount over an extended period.

He noted that Adams had also committed offences of burglary and receiving stolen property and been sentenced during the period of the fraud offending.

Because there were a large number of victims, his offer of reparation would "barely scratch the surface for most of them".

The judge told Adams: "You can't on any analysis be seen as a person of good character, because you do have a number of offences relating to dishonesty from 1986."

The judge asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared to assess Adams' suitability for home detention but said imprisonment was likely.

- NZPA