A Victorian court has sentenced a former Allianz financial adviser to five years’ imprisonment, while the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has permanently banned her from providing financial services after she allegedly stole clients’ funds and forged loan documents in clients’ names to obtain financial advantage.
ASIC said Kerrie Marie King also allegedly provided false documentation for a loan application on her own behalf. The total value of all deceptions amounted to over $1.3 million.
In April 2016, King was convicted in the County Court of Victoria with five counts of obtaining property by deception and two counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception.
She was sentenced to a five-year prison term, with a non-parole period of three years.
ASIC said it permanently banned King to protect the public, as it was in the public’s interest. The ban was effective from 12 August 2016.
ASIC had the power to permanently ban a person from operating in the financial services industry if they were convicted of a serious fraud, which included obtaining property or financial advantage by deception.
ASIC Commissioner, Peter Kell, said: “It is imperative that financial services and credit product consumers can rely on the honesty and integrity of persons who provide such services. As this case shows, conduct that breaches financial services or credit laws will result in action by ASIC to remove them from these industries”.
