Mr Shane Thompson, of New Gisborne, Victoria, has pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court to two charges that he forged and submitted financial planning documents for his own personal gain, ASIC informed earlier today.
The charges, brought by ASIC, allege that between 27 December 2012 and 1 March 2013, Mr Thompson completed 22 false ‘Change of Adviser’ forms and submitted them to MLC Ltd in order to transfer National Australia Bank (NAB) clients to his personal financial planning client list. It was alleged that Mr Thompson forged client signatures on each form and undertook this process without clients’ knowledge or authorisation so that he could receive additional financial planning remuneration from his employer, NAB.
Mr Thompson was was convicted on both charges and fined an aggregate of $1,000 with $293.30 in costs.
Peter Kell, ASIC
ASIC Deputy Chair Peter Kell said:
Consumers should be able to have trust and confidence in their financial advisers. ASIC will continue to take action against advisers that fall short of community standards.
The complete announcement can be seen here.