Teacher censured and deregistered after failed ponzi scheme

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A teacher who was jailed after losing about $1.5 million of investors' money in a failed Ponzi scheme has been censured and deregistered by the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal.

Rene Alan Chalmers was sentenced in Auckland District Court in January last year to serve four years and three months in prison after pleading guilty to 14 charges of theft by a person in a special relationship, dishonestly using a document and making false statements to investors.

Many of his clients were family, friends and colleagues.

In a recently released decision, the tribunal said Chalmers' offending was "dishonesty at the highest level".

"In our view, we would not be discharging our responsibilities to the public and the profession were we to allow this teacher to retain his registration."

The offending was so serious, the tribunal said if Chalmers was to attempt to reregister in the future, they would be surprised if the application was treated "sympathetically".

The Pukekohe teacher's convictions stemmed from trading foreign currency and misleading banks when buying three Bay of Plenty properties.

When obtaining loans for these he showed banks accounts from his company, Chalmers Cameron Investments, passing off the balance as his own money, not that of investors.

He also made 519 false statements to 64 investors about his company in which its parlous financial position was not disclosed.

During sentencing, prosecutor Dale La Hood said the operation was never viable and was a Ponzi scheme.

Defence lawyer Paul Mabey, QC, told the court that by his own admission, Chalmers was incompetent at forex trading but when the operation was set up there was no intention to deceive investors.