Fraudster sentenced
A Cairns-based financial adviser has been sentenced to eight years jail for defrauding mum-and-dad investors out of nearly $1 million.
Piet Walters, the former director of accountancy practice Drury Management, pleaded guilty in the Cairns District Court last week to 14 charges of fraud and an additional charge of dishonest inducement brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Walters was found to have obtained unsecured loans from around 118 private investors between 1999 and 2003, guaranteeing them returns of between 8 and 15 per cent per annum.
Total losses from Walters’ unregistered managed investment scheme, Drury Management, are estimated at around $15 million.
Walters was originally convicted of 14 counts of fraud on September 16, 2006, but appealed the decision. On April 17, the conviction was overturned and a retrial ordered.
Walters is also wanted by Canadian police (under the name Fred Hofman) in connection with a fraudulent investment scheme, alleged to have netted him more than $20 million in the late 1980s.
Walters will be eligible for parole on November 1, 2009.
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