Southern adviser’s guilty plea

A South Island businessman has pleaded guilty to practising as a financial adviser without a licence.

Garry James Patterson was not registered as a financial adviser, and neither was he a member of an approved dispute resolution scheme, yet provided financial services in contravention of the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008.

Patterson pled guilty to two charges laid by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) at the Christchurch District Court.

The charges were: failing to disclose he was unregistered when providing financial services; and obstructing the FMA’s investigation by refusing to attend an interview without reasonable excuse.

The charges related to insurance policies sold between July 2013 and May 2015.

The FMA said Patterson had previously been convicted and imprisoned for signing up nonexistent clients for insurance in 2006. The FMA would not confirm how long Patterson spent in jail.

In 2007, insurance companies Fidelity Life and ING Life, which worked with the broker, said they had been warned of Patterson’s activities after he was expelled from the Life Brokers Association in 2004.

The then chief executive of Fidelity Life, Milton Jennings, told goodreturns.co.nz that he felt sorry for him.

In the same article former managing director of ING Life Naomi Ballantyne said the insurance company worked with him despite warnings.

Patterson filed for bankruptcy in November 2016.

The authority said it would comment on the plea after the sentencing, which is set for April.