A Highland Park man has admitted forging a document falsely certifying him as a financial adviser.
Yuen Pok (Paul) Loo pleaded guilty to forgery and financial markets legislation offences at the Manukau District Court on September 15.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has confirmed that Loo has pleaded guilty to several criminal charges.
He pleaded guilty to:
- one charge of forgery under section 256(1) of the Crimes Act 1961;
- one representative charge of using a forged document under section 257(1) of the Crimes Act 1961;
- one representative charge of providing financial services when he was not registered under section 11(2) of the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008 (FSP Act); and
- two representative charges of failing to comply with the FMA’s orders under section 479(2) of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.
The forgery charges relate to a letter Loo forged purporting to be from the FMA granting his company Wisdom House Investment Partners Limited a full financial advice provider licence and sent it to his clients.
The latter charges relate to Mr Loo providing financial advice without a registration when he was required to be registered under the FSP Act and Loo’s breach of the FMA’s stop orders by continuing to contact his clients and provide financial advice.
In August 2022, the FMA issued a permanent stop order against Mr Loo and Wisdom House, for which he is the sole director and shareholder, after finding that Mr Loo had falsely claimed to be a financial adviser in an email to clients and attaching the forged FAP licence to the email.
Loo will be sentenced at the Manukau District Court on December 20.
The leading charges under the Crimes Act carry a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment. The charge under the FSP Act carries a maximum penalty of 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine not exceeding $100,000 or both. The charge under the FMC Act carries a maximum penalty of a fine not exceeding $300,000.
The FMA said it will comment further at the sentencing decision.
