Ex-Adviser Liable for $4.6M in Damages to Actress, Four Others
Rafael R. Sanchez, a former California financial advisor who already has been banned from the securities industry, was ordered to pay five investors, including actress and singer Maria Conchita Alonso, a total of about $4.6 million in damages for steering them into a risky real-estate fund that he ran.
As a representative of MAM Wealth Management LLC in Sherman Oaks, Calif., Mr. Sanchez invested his clients' money into the MAM Wealth Management Real Estate Fund, of which he was the chief financial officer. The fund made real-estate loans secured by second mortgages, in some cases to borrowers in financial distress. By 2010, the fund stopped making distributions to investors. According to the SEC, while the fund was described as "speculative" and high-risk in its prospectus, Mr. Sanchez told clients it was a safe and liquid investment.
Related Attorneys: James J. Eccleston