FINRA Bars Ohio Broker Accused of Stealing $90,000 Inheritance from Two Sisters from the Securities Industry

Richard Wood, an Ohio broker, has agreed to be barred from the securities industry for allegedly committing broker misconduct. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the broker, working for American General Securities Inc., allegedly stole the $90,000 that a client had left to two of her nieces.

FINRA says that Wood helped liquidate the estate in 2006. He then suggested that the nieces, who are sisters, open a brokerage account and invest in bonds. He was to oversee their investments. Instead, he allegedly misappropriated the money and told the sisters to issue their checks to STL Financial, Inc., an entity that he alone controlled rather than an actual brokerage firm.

The self-regulatory organization claims that Wood gave each of the sisters a bogus account number to a brokerage account that didn’t exist. He also allegedly put together more than one false customer account statement when one of the sisters became suspicious.

FINRA says Wood used the funds. He did eventually return some of it to one of the sisters. The firm would later reimburse the other sister for her investment losses.

FINRA Enforcement Chief Susan L. Merrill says that Wood was in “egregious breach of ethical standards” when he stole money from the sisters and came up with documents that were bogus to make the two women think that he was taking care of their investments.

By agreeing to settle the case, Wood is not denying or admitting to the SRO’s allegations against him.

Our stockbroker fraud law firm is determine to make sure that our investor clients recover the losses that they’ve suffered due to broker fraud.

Related Web Resources:
FINRA Bars AGSI Broker for Misappropriating $90,000 Inheritance From Two Sisters, FINRA, August 11, 2009
FINRA Bars Broker for Stealing Sisters’ Inheritance, FA-Mag, August 11, 2009