SEC Charges Former Illinois Edward Jones Advisor With Fraud
From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law:
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged a former Illinois-based investment advisor, Ronald Molo, with defrauding three clients out of at least $800,000.
Molo formerly served as an investment advisor at Edward Jones until June of 2021. The SEC alleges that Molo misappropriated $800,000 from three clients between January 2019 and November 2020. According to the SEC, Molo persuaded the three investors to transfer funds from their advisory accounts to another bank account, which Molo represented as an investment in tax-free bonds.
However, the complaint alleges that the tax-free bonds did not exist while the clients had transferred their funds into Molo’s personal bank account. Rather than investing client funds, Molo used the money to cover personal expenses, mortgage payments and home renovations, according to the SEC. The SEC’s complaint further alleges that Molo sent the three clients purported interest payments using funds in his personal bank account in an effort to cover up the fraud.
Molo has been the subject of several customer complaints.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.
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