Rogue Broker Convicted & Faces Decades In Prison
A jury has convicted Anthony Diaz, a barred rogue stockbroker who was fired by several brokerage firms and has been the subject of more than four dozen customer complaints, of 11 counts of wire fraud and mail fraud. Each criminal court comes with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm) have been speaking to former customers of Diaz who sustained investment losses while working with him. If you are one of these investors, contact our broker fraud attorneys today. You may have grounds for a civil claim against the brokerage firm where he was working at the time.
Mail & Wire Fraud Claims: Diaz Allegedly Did Not Disclose Risks
In the criminal case against Diaz, the ex-broker is accused of selling about $661K in risky, costly alternative investments to customers for whom they were unsuitable.
He did this in part by asking them to sign blank documents and then he inputted false information regarding their net worth, risk tolerance level, investment experience, and income to make them seem like the type of investors for whom alternative investments were suitable.
According to customers, they were promised guaranteed returns and were not informed that their funds might not be accessible for years or that they were at risk of losing money.
During his criminal trial, Diaz tried to blame paperwork errors and incompetence by the brokerage firms where he worked rather than criminal intent on his part. His defense team noted that he didn’t steal investors’ funds outright. Instead, they claimed the losses had come from the investments they made — an element that made his criminal fraud case unusual.
However, prosecutors said that the fact that there were so many false and fraudulent statements involved is what contributed to the federal charges against him.
Anthony Diaz: His Broker Career Detailed
Over the 14 years that he was a broker, Anthony Diaz worked for 11 firms including:
- Raymond James Financial Securities
- First Allied Securities
- Kovack Securities
- SII Investments
- Horwitz & Associates
- Matrix Capital Group
- IBN Financial Services
- Round Hill Securities
- Sandlapper Securities
- International Financial Solutions
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) barred him in 2015. Diaz was once considered a top-earning broker. Many of the investors who he harmed were senior investors including retirees and widows, as well as other inexperienced investors. In 2018, FINRA awarded a group of claimants over $4.3M in their elder investor fraud claim against him.
Allegations against Diaz by former customers have included wire fraud, unsuitable investments, misrepresentations, omissions, breach of fiduciary duty, forging documents and making false statements.
Brokerage Firm Negligence Claims
Diaz continued to work in the industry for years and kept getting hired by different broker-dealers even with his long record of claims, and other disclosures against him.
Please contact SSEK Law Firm to request your free consultation to see if there are grounds for a brokerage firm negligence case if Anthony Diaz was ever your broker. We can help you explore your legal options and determine whether you have grounds for your own claim.