Adrian Galliers was a “trusted friend” to his clients, the court heard. A financial adviser who defrauded clients out of £157k has been jailed for three years.
Adrian Galliers, 50, from Guernsey, was found guilty of 10 counts of fraud over a four-and-a-half year period. Galliers carried out the deception through his company Guernsey Financial Consultants Limited.
The Royal Court heard he had taken money from his clients’ pension funds after suffering financial difficulties. The company was fined £42,000 last year by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission after concerns were raised about the way the business was being run.
The court heard how Galliers initially moved money with the intent of paying it back to his clients, but the situation spiraled out of control. The prosecution said three of the people Galliers had defrauded were long term friends who “trusted him implicitly”. Will Giles told the court one individual had known the financial adviser for 20 years and they had a long and well established friendship.
At the Royal Court, Judge Russell Finch said Gallier’s crimes “reflected badly” on Guernsey’s pensions and insurance sectors. Galliers had suffered from depression and the GFSC fine had impacted him greatly, it was said. He was described as being too “proud” and “ignorant” to admit the extent of his problems.
Judge Russell Finch sentenced him to three years for each of the 10 counts of fraud, to run concurrently.
Mr Finch said Galliers was trusted and regarded as a friend by his victims, but in reality he stole from them. The “wholly despicable” offences reflected badly on the local pensions and insurance sectors, he added.
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