Securities Fraud: Ex-Ameriprise Adviser to Pay $3M for Ponzi Scam, Four Insurance Agents Allegedly Defrauded Senior Investors, and Trading in Nine Penny Stocks is Suspended

Former Ameriprise Adviser Ordered to Jail, Must Pay $3M Restitution
Oscar Donald Overbey Jr., an ex-Ameriprise Financial Services (AMP) financial adviser, must pay back the $3 million he allegedly stole from investors while operating a Ponzi scam. The 47-year-old has been sentenced to three and a half years behind bars.

Court documents say that from 1996 into 2007, Overbey stole about $4 million of client funds that he was supposed to invest. Instead, the money was used to pay earlier investors, cover his personal expenses, and pay off his gambling debts.

In July 2012, Overbey was indicted. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud felony charges last year. Overbey reportedly told a doctor that many of his brokerage clients were fellow gamblers.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority barred him from the industry in 2007. Ameriprise fired him. It has since paid back the clients that were affected by Overbey’s fraud.

Insurance Agents Face SEC Charges Alleging Elder Financial Fraud
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is charging four insurance agents over their involvement in a multi-million dollar securities fraud that targeted senior investors. The elder financial fraud charges come almost a year after the regulator filed charges against Gary C. Snisky for orchestrating the scheme and bringing in insurance agents to solicit investors.

The financial scam raised about $4.3 million over 18 months. Now, the SEC is going after insurance agents Kenneth C. Meissner, Mark S. Tomich, James Doug Scott, and David C. Sorrells for soliciting funds even though they weren’t registered as a broker-dealer with the Commission.

The fraud primarily targeted annuity holders that were retired. The insurance agents sold interests in Arete LLC, which Snisky controlled. Investors were purportedly told that their money would be used to buy discounted agency bonds that were backed by the government. Instead, Snisky misappropriated about $2.8 million of their money.

Microcrap Fraud Probe Leads to Trading Suspension in Nine Penny Stocks
The SEC has suspended trading in nine penny stocks. The move is an effort to battle microcap fraud. The affected companies include Xumanii International Holdings Corp., All Grade Mining Inc., Solar Thin Films Inc., Global Green Inc., Bluforest Inc., mLight Tech Inc., DHS Holding Co., Inova Technology Inc., and Essential Innovations Technology Corp.

The SEC can elect to suspend trading in a stock if it believes that doing so is necessary to protect investors and the public. The regulator typically cannot announce in advance that a suspension is in the works because this could hinder its investigative efforts.

Ex-Ameriprise adviser gets jail time for using client money to pay gambling debts, Investment News, October 7, 2014

SEC Charges Four Insurance Agents in Securities Fraud Targeting Elderly Investors, SEC, September 26, 2014

Penny Stocks Trading Suspension Order, SEC (PDF)

More Blog Posts:
FINRA Bars Former Raymond James Adviser for Elder Financial Fraud, Charges SWS Over Variable Annuity Supervision, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, October 7, 2014

Former Axa Advisors Broker Faces SEC Charges Over Alleged $1.5M Ponzi Scam, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, September 30, 2014
Shareholder’s $40B Class Action Securities Lawsuit Over AIG Bailout Goes to Trial, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, September 29, 2014