An insurance broker who said he would invest elderly clients’ funds but spent the money and issued false statements has pleaded guilty to theft.

Murray McClune, who had worked in the insurance industry since the 1960s, took about $NZ1.7 million ($1.58 million) from two sets of elderly clients between 2016 and 2022 on the basis he would invest it for them.

Instead, he used some of the money for personal purposes.  

To give the impression the funds remained invested and to conceal his theft, he issued falsified statements to the clients.

His offending was uncovered when he was unable to repay funds on demand.  

McClune – who was also a registered financial adviser – had an established book of clients and some had used his services for decades and considered him a friend. He mostly offered services through his business Insurance Plus.

The case, originally brought by the Financial Markets Authority, became a Crown prosecution after McClune chose a trial by jury, before deciding to plead guilty.  

FMA head of enforcement Margot Gatland says McClune dealt with the funds of elderly, vulnerable investors with whom he had close personal relationships, but he took advantage of the friendships.

“In addition to being devastating to the victims, offending of this nature undermines public confidence in registered advisers and harms their reputations,” she said.

“The FMA will respond to serious misconduct of this type where required and to the fullest extent of the law. New Zealand’s financial system relies on trust, transparency and fairness.”

McClune was registered as an insurance broker and a financial adviser from March 2011.

Theft by a person in a special relationship carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.