The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has warned the legal profession it is targeting “enablers” in trusted positions after successfully prosecuting an Auckland lawyer for mortgage fraud.
The SFO said Francis John Peters was working as a lawyer when he was involved in a fraudulent scheme involving a $1.35 million loan from Westpac for the purchase of an Auckland property.
Peters pleaded guilty in April to three charges of obtaining credit by deception and one of obtaining property by deception.
He was sentenced in the North Shore District Court last Wednesday to nine months and two weeks home detention.
SFO director Karen Chang said Peters used his professional status to help facilitate fraud.
“Such actions, especially as a lawyer, undermine trust in our financial and legal systems, highlighting the importance of the SFO’s focus on cases involving professional enablers,” she said.
“By addressing these breaches of trust, we are committed to safeguarding New Zealand’s economic and financial integrity from those who exploit their professional status for criminal gain.”
Chang said this was why professionals such as lawyers were a strategic focus for the SFO.
The SFO last year outlined seven “strategic areas of focus” for the organisation.
They include “frauds perpetrated or facilitated by trusted professionals or professional enablers”, as well as “corporate and commercial fraud that threatens New Zealand’s reputation as a safe place to do business”.
Peters is reportedly also facing disciplinary proceedings brought by the New Zealand Law Society, although this could not be immediately confirmed.
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