23 July 2019
A foreign exchange broker who used forged documents to disguise his company’s financial status has pleaded guilty to
fraud.
Russell Maher (52) pleaded guilty today at the Auckland District Court to 47 charges of ‘Using forged documents’ brought
by the Serious Fraud Office. The charges relate to Forex Brokers Limited (FBL), through which the defendant provided
foreign exchange services.
Mr Maher provided clients with forged documents that deliberately misrepresented the status of the transactions he was
meant to carry out. He used forged documents to disguise that FBL was in financial difficulty.
The Acting Director of the SFO, Rajesh Chhana, said, “Mr Maher risked client funds and New Zealand’s reputation as a
safe place to do business through his arrogant and, ultimately, criminal actions. He used his clients’ money to maintain
the façade of a successful business. Significant losses to client funds could have been avoided if Mr Maher had behaved
honestly and accepted that his business had failed.”
Mr Maher was remanded on bail for sentencing at the Auckland District Court on 30 September.
ENDS