A court has awarded Bridges Financial Services (Bridges) $500,000 after the firm finalised legal proceedings against one of its former advisers.
Earlier this month, the New South Wales District Registry of the Federal Court of Australia found in favour of Bridges and its parent company Australian Wealth Management (AWM), now known as IOOF, over evidence that former adviser Alan Leslie Brown had misappropriated $160,000 of clients' funds.
The court also ordered that freezing orders made against Brown and his wife Donna Joyce Brown in June 2008 be lifted.
Bridges and AWM took action against Brown in the Federal Court last June.
Brown was employed as an authorised representative of Bridges from about 7 June 2007 until 28 May 2008. According to documents filed with the court, Brown is alleged to have obtained $57,500 from one client and $90,000 from another client.
"Later, when the client whose $90,000 had been used, died, Mr Brown used the money of another client to pay out the estate," court documents said.
"Mr Brown caused both amounts to be paid to the trust account of B Hayward & Co, the solicitors who were acting for Mrs Brown on the purchase and mortgage. It appears that of the $147,500, a sum of $23,676.94 was not needed and was paid to the Credit Union on account of Mr Brown."
Brown had used the sum of $147,500 towards the purchase of a property which he placed in his wife's name Donna Joyce Brown, according to court documents. The court has since ordered a freezing order against Brown's wife.
Brown admitted to having used the $160,000 of clients' funds inappropriately in May last year.
