Victorian insurance broker pleads guilty to theft
Insurance broker Bruce Wickett of Frankston, Victoria, has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $660,000 in clients' money over a seven-month period.
Wickett appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court between August 2010 and March 2011, charged with three counts of theft totalling $662,198.39.
He pleaded guilty to all three counts, in a matter prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
The money represented insurance premiums that were being held by Wickett on behalf of 228 clients. The money was to be forwarded to various insurance companies for insurance cover they had provided to Wickett's clients.
Wickett was bailed to appear in the County Court at Melbourne on 18 April 2013 for a plea hearing.
At the time of the offences Wickett was the sole director of Wickett Investments Pty Ltd and Wickett Insurance Broking Pty Ltd, through which he operated his insurance broking business.
According the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the charges under Section 74 of the Victorian Crimes Act carry a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment for each offence.
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