With more people in charge of their investment portfolios than ever before, state securities officials are warning investors of the increasing sophistication of investment advisers who steal money from unsuspecting clients. Victims of investment fraud include retired couples who lose their nest egg and young executives trying to make the fast buck on Wall Street.
State and federal securities agencies are trying to catch the swindlers and thieves and urge investors to be hyper-vigilant of the activity of their broker and their account.
Although most financial advisers, stockbrokers, and money managers are honest, hard-working people just like you, those who are not find many ways of lining their pockets with your hard-earned money. The danger is compounded by the investor’s desire for maximum return, the concern of most retirees of outliving their savings, the increase in investment opportunities, and the number of people claiming to be qualified investment advisers.
There is legal help available if you feel you may be the victim of investment fraud.
The following are just a few examples of how “brokers” have taken advantage of their “clients.”
• In Illinois, Howard and John Bozovich were not properly registered as investment advisers. Nevertheless, this father-and-son accounting firm told its clients that it would pool investor funds and purchase various securities. Twelve investors ultimately provided $1.7 million. The Illinois Securities Department uncovered massive diversion of investor funds for the personal benefit of the Bozovichs. Howard and John were found guilty in state and federal courts and were sentenced to 15 and 11 years, respectively.
• The Colorado Division of Securities reported that Murleen K. Kunzman swindled $1.8 million from 80 individuals she recruited from her income tax preparation service. In league with her husband and son, the Greeley, Colorado woman convinced her carefully selected clients that they would receive returns higher than certificates of deposit from nine separate limited partnerships in residential mortgage loans that she offered. After pleading guilty, she was convicted of securities fraud and money laundering and sentenced to 57 months in federal prison. Her former clients lost everything they invested.
• A former NFL player with a history of being disciplined for securities violations by the New York Stock Exchange, the National Association of Securities Dealers, as well as New Hampshire and Vermont, this self-proclaimed investment adviser was arrested after a joint investigation by the Vermont Securities Division and the FBI. The accused allegedly ran a Ponzi scheme in which early investors were paid with money provided by later ones, then encouraged to invest ever larger sums. Residents of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Florida may have been bilked out of as much as $30 million.
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