‘Naive’ investor stung in alleged ponzi
A couple has been left stranded after allegedly being swindled out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in what is thought to be a significant ponzi scheme.
John Docherty and his wife, Sue Evans, were on the eve of building a new home for their retirement years, but now fear they have lost $650,000.
In early July, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Financial Markets Authority (FMA) said they were investigating Paul Clifford Hibbs and his company, Hansa.
Hansa’s website was taken down, leaving the only information about him in a 2010 court judgment which described him as an investment manager for ‘‘a number of wealthy investors’’.
A source who did not want to be identified made claims about Hibbs in July. However, neither the SFO or FMA would comment during the investigation.
But now Docherty has come forward to share his story after a meeting held with investors last week, at which they were told the investigation had found the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme.
‘‘We’re past the tears,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s affected our lives hugely … we’re trying to figure out what to do here.’’
A friend introduced Docherty and his wife to Hibbs, the friend’s investment manager of many years, after they sold their home in Christchurch about three years ago. They wanted to do something with what was to be their retirement nest egg, so invested $800,000.
Things were supposedly going well and the couple took out $150,000 to purchase another property. When they went to Hibbs again in June this year asking for the rest of their money, Hibbs flew to their home in Mapua, near Nelson, to talk about winding down.
But by July, Docherty said he began to hear about ‘‘issues’’, and by August, all communication stopped.
The couple were two weeks away from submitting plans for a new house to retire in, but claim they have now lost $650,000 to Hibbs.
‘‘I won’t suggest what I think should happen to him,’’ Docherty said.
Docherty said investors were invited to a meeting last week in Christchurch. The FMA and SFO gave the meeting a full description of what a ponzi scheme was, and indicated there was a possibility this was what Hansa might be.
Docherty said the meeting was also told there appeared to be no money left and that a prosecution was likely.
Asked to respond to Docherty’s claims, the SFO reiterated it would not comment while its investigation was ongoing, while the FMA said its investigation was now closed after helping the SFO gather information.
Docherty admitted he and his wife had been ‘‘fairly naive damn investors’’, as they had invested on the advice of their ‘‘ultra diligent’’ friend.
Hibbs has not responded to requests for comment, but Hansa’s investment prospectus says Hansa’s ‘‘unique privileges and benefits’’ were only available by invitation.
Clients needed to have investable assets of at least $1 million, it says.