79-year-old lawyer jailed for 8 years
John David Milne operated a ponzi-like sheme duping elderly victims of $2.8m.
Former Dunedin lawyer, John David Milne (79), has been sentenced to eight years and one month in prison for fraud.
Milne had earlier pleaded guilty to 34 Crimes Act charges relating to misappropriating investments of $2.8 million from mainly elderly clients in a Ponzi-like scheme.
He was sentenced today in the Christchurch District Court having been convicted of the Serious Fraud Office charges.
Milne solicited money from clients or associates on the premise that he would invest that money and pay them a return on their invested funds.
His activity had hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme as he had in fact been paying investors from funds received for investment from other clients. Milne had not actually invested any of his clients’ money.
Milne operated the scheme for more than 20 years from 1991 to 2012 having built up a loyal client base in Dunedin derived from his previous legal work in a sole practise.
SFO director Julie Read says despite the successful prosecution, the agency remains concerned for Milne’s victims for whom it is too late for many to recover from the impact of his dishonesty.
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