NSW:Stockbroker robbed us 'in cold blood'

AAP General News (Australia)
08-19-2011
NSW:Stockbroker robbed us 'in cold blood'

By Britt Smith

SYDNEY, Aug 19 AAP - An elderly Sydney society stockbroker who "in cold blood" stole
almost $4 million from friends and clients over a decade has been jailed for at least
two years.

In sentencing Robert Blanshard, 81, on Friday, NSW District Court Judge Anthony Garling
said the offender was once a highly-respected man who breached the trust of his victims,
some who he had known for much of his life.

Blanshard, labelled a "crook" by his wife, pleaded guilty in April to fraudulently
misappropriating $3.9 million from three clients and a company over a number of years.

Among them were Bill Friend, Anthony Grigor-Scott - a former student of Blanshard's
in the 1950s - and the company Idlebase, of which he was the director and sole shareholder.

He also admitted to robbing three other long-term friends and associates.

Victim Jeff Conen - who first met Blanshard while a student at the Shore Church of
England grammar school in North Sydney - lost $272,000.

"I didn't think he had the ability to sit down and, in cold blood, plan those enormous
thefts, year in year out," Mr Conen said outside court.

"Your faith in human nature was the loss, not the financial loss."

In 2008, Mr Conen went to Blanshard's house to inquire about his investment. Blanshard
had no answers, saying that he'd had to live with this for 20 years.

His wife said: "I used to wonder why he spent all weekend with a great list of figures.

Now I know why. We are left with nothing."

"The saddest thing is, out son and daughter and grandchildren will know their grandfather
is a crook," she said.

Blanshard filed for bankruptcy in March 2009, with creditors owed a total of $5.5 million.

The judge said Blanshard blamed his offending on financial troubles sparked by the
Lloyd's of London disaster, his wife losing $700,000, and a significant downturn on the
stockmarket.

"It got out of hand," the judge said.

"He knew he could not pay back the money, but he kept taking it. It escalated from
there. To repay the monies, he took other monies."

Blanshard used some of the cash on his lifestyle, although his son previously told
the court his father did not live or seek the high life.

According to references, Blanshard was highly respected in the community, having taught
at Shore and sitting on its council into the 1990s. He then became a stockbroker, advising
many of his friends who "obviously totally trusted him," the judge said.

In sentencing him to a maximum of six years with a two-year non-parole period, the
judge took into account his age and poor health.

One doctor concluded Blanshard was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and would die
from terminal dementia within ten years.

The judge also noted Blanshard had expressed a deep sense of guilt and regret.

Chris Harrington, who has known Blanshard since 1976 and lost $108,000, said he felt
the sentence was fair and justified.

"This person stole from a number of people, it was deliberate," he said.

"It was a shocking thing to do, a complete breach of trust."

AAP bzs/tr/nb/jlw

KEYWORD: BLANSHARD

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