Options trader pleads guilty to fraud
Gregory Alan Arnott has entered guilty pleas in the Auckland District Court to 10 Crimes Act charges brought by the
Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
The 51 year-old stockbroker and options trader was the director of Derivatek New Zealand Limited (Derivatek) and traded
in options on behalf of New Zealand clients on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
Mr Arnott has admitted that, between April 2008 and May 2012, he used money received from investors for purposes other
than options trading including; repaying other investors and funding a portion of an advance fee in an endeavour to
obtain a US$20million loan. In order to conceal the fraud Mr Arnott issued false statements to his investors.
SFO Director, Julie Read said, “Mr Arnott earned the trust of a group of investors through his personal association with
them. He misappropriated his clients’ funds and misrepresented the true position of their investments. The SFO hopes
that this outcome will go some way to assuring investors that there is an effective response to offending of this
nature.”
Mr Arnott will reappear in the Auckland District Court on 30 July.
ENDS