Adviser guilty of $15m fraud

Former financial adviser Jacqui Bradley has been found guilty of all 75 charges relating to a $15 million Ponzi scheme run by her and her late husband Mike Bradley.

Tuesday, September 4th 2012, 9:13PM 1 Comment

by Niko Kloeten

Following a five-week trial in the Auckland District Court, the jury took less than four-and-a-half hours to reach a unanimous verdict finding her guilty of all the charges, which were brought by the Serious Fraud Office.

The SFO originally charged the Bradleys with 87 counts of fraud after their financial advice business B’On Financial Services collapsed in late 2009; however, Mike Bradley died in April last year.

Bradley’s lawyer Ron Mansfield argued during the trial that her husband had been the one running the business while she played a more minor role.

However, Crown prosecutor Kristy McDonald QC said the couple had worked together to fleece clients, using investor funds being to repay credit card debts, fund school fees and lease a Coromandel property and a BMW vehicle.

Investor funds were also used to make mortgage payments on their Remuera home, which was sold by receivers for more than $4 million.

Bradley was remanded in custody until Friday, October 19 for sentencing.

Niko Kloeten can be contacted at niko@goodreturns.co.nz

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Comments from our readers

On 8 September 2012 at 7:04 pm traveller said:

What this case illustrates is that you can put all the preventive legislation and controls you like in place but if an adviser has the inclination to steal clients' money, he or she will. In the end, it's all about ethics and you can't legislate that.