SEC Bars New Jersey Advisor Over “Cherry-Picking” Scheme

Posted on October 1st, 2021 at 12:26 PM
SEC Bars New Jersey Advisor Over “Cherry-Picking” Scheme

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law:

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has barred a New Jersey-based advisor from the industry for allegedly operating a fraudulent “cherry-picking” scheme. Michael Bressman, who most recently was associated with FCG Wealth Management, has held multiple securities licenses and worked with several registered advisory firms between 1979 and 2019. The SEC alleges that Bressman conducted a fraudulent “cherry-picking” scheme from January 2012 through at least February 2018 while affiliated with FCG. 

According to the SEC, Bressman would purchase blocks of equities using an allocation account and monitor the stock prices on the day the trade was completed (Trade Day). Bressman subsequently would “cherry-pick” the stocks that increased in value on Trade Day and transfer the appreciated stocks to his own brokerage account, according to the complaint. On the other hand, Bressman allocated the stocks that had decreased in value on Trade Day to client accounts. According to the complaint, Bressman failed to disclose to clients that he had allocated stock trades to benefit himself at the expense of clients. In 2019, Bressman received a 24-month prison sentence and $793,680 fine after pleading guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of investment advisor fraud. 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

 

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, sec, barred advisor, cherry-picking scheme

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