Former adviser charged with falsifying documents


Former financial adviser, Ashley Grant Howard, has been charged with falsifying documents.
Howard, of Hobart, Tasmania, appeared in Newcastle Local Court charged with 17 offences under the NSW Crimes Act.
It was alleged he used 17 false transfer forms to arrange for shares to be transferred between parties without the knowledge and approval of 14 shareholders between July 2013 and April 2014. Shares were transferred from clients to himself and an associate.
These were shares in GPS Alliance Holdings, BHP Billiton and Aquarius Platinum.
The maximum penalty per offence when dealt with summarily was two years in prison or a fine of up to $11,000.
The matter was being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions after a referral by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Howard had been permanently banned from providing financial services in October 2016.
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