Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Ex-Merrill Broker Sentenced to Three Years for Sales Practice Violations

A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri sentenced Greg J. Campbell on charges that he had siphoned off almost $2 million from client accounts, including that of an 85-year-old client with dementia, for personal use.

According to press reports, Campbell was ordered to repay $1.8 million in restitution and forfeit property purchased with client funds. Campbell’s scheme began in September 2007 while he was a broker working for Merrill Lynch, according to a court filing by the U.S. Attorney’s office in St. Louis, Mo.

The reports continue sayin that he opened and oversaw Loan Management Accounts, which are credit lines collateralized by securities held in customer accounts, under his clients’ names and then used those funds for down payments on a personal residence, mortgage payments, vehicle lease payments and living expenses, the filing said. He hid the activities by falsifying signatures on letters of authorization, replacing balances at one account with those of another client’s, and sending account statements to unrelated addresses to which only Campbell had access, according to the complaint.

More details are available at Ex-Merrill Broker Sentenced to More Than 3 Years