McEwen previously sent the court correspondence from Lithuania. Defence counsel Karl Trotter today said McEwen was still overseas.
Judge Lance said McEwen had provided an affidavit setting out financial means.
It said McEwen had no real estate, no assets, no savings, was in arrears to Inland Revenue, and “in poor health physically and mentally”.
Prosecutor Sam McMullan said the accuracy of details in the affidavit was hard to confirm.
Judge Lance asked how he was supposed to assess that.
“It would have helped if he had turned up,” McMullan replied.
“He doesn’t respond to claims his own referees made … one of them talks about a $250,000 investment that’s been made with Mr McEwen.”
The judge said McEwen was not obliged to be in court.
McEwen told the court he earned about $50,000 a year with a small firm in Europe and had a subscription newsletter.
Victim: We trusted him
A victim impact statement was read out.
“We trusted him because of his experience and knowledge. He was also a guest speaker on a breakfast radio show,” wrote a woman aged 62.
“Our investment went from $33,000 to $15,000,” she added.
Instead of bailing out, the woman succumbed to McEwen’s overtures and handed over another $12,000.
“The money completely disappeared … how could we have been so stupid?”
She was now anxious, constantly checking accounts, and did not trust financial advisers.
She added, “Remorse, David? There is none.”
The court heard that when the woman challenged McEwen about the failed investment, he told her something along the lines of: “Oh yeah, sorry about that.”
“I was stunned by your pathetic response,” the woman added in her statement.
She said McEwen had continued to bombard her with cold calls, trying to sell more failed products.
‘Corrosive’ behaviour
Judge Lance said McEwen’s offending was corrosive to the integrity of New Zealand’s financial markets.
The court heard another aggravating feature was the scale of the offending, with multiple investors involved.
The judge said the targets were vulnerable, and McEwen had promoted financial products by making misstatements.
Judge Lance said the value of assets McEwen cited was unsupported, and he’d requested an “administration fee” from clients.
The court heard premeditated offending involved McEwen offering and issuing financial products relating to Cosmopolitan Holdings Pte, incorporated in Singapore.
“Personal gain was the motivator,” Judge Lance added, saying McEwen acquired $183,046.49.
McEwen in an affidavit said he had already suffered consequences, and his reputation had been damaged.
Prosecutors said a fine of $150,000 to $200,000 would be appropriate.
But the judge said he had to take McEwen’s affidavit into account.
The Crown suggested the gravity of offending was at a medium level, and the defence said it was low.
Judge Lance said the defence argued McEwen’s offending “did not involve dishonesty or misappropriation and the total was modest in the FMA context”.
McEwen had no prior convictions, and the court heard one of his investors was still supportive.
McEwen was convicted and fined $15,000.
He was banned from being a company director and from providing financial advice services for seven years.
Previous investor: ‘Betrayed’
A previous investor told the Herald he lost money to investments with McEwen.
“I invested in several of his promotions.”
He said he never got a return.
He said the $15,000 fine was “bloody ridiculous”.
The investor said he emailed McEwen and told him: “I’ve never met such an unscrupulous person as you. You betrayed me.”
He said McEwen replied: “I am sorry you have taken that view. I don’t believe I did anything wrong.”
McEwen told the man some of the allegations were “another FMA character assassination”.
The previous investor said McEwen came across as a friendly, jovial man who promoted himself on the radio, in newspapers, and at meetings.
“He just kept promising and promising. You think he’s an honest guy, and unfortunately, it all turned to custard.”
John Weekes is a business journalist covering aviation and court. He has previously covered consumer affairs, crime, politics and courts.
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