Ex-LPL, particular wants advisor pleads responsible in fraud case.

A one-time monetary advisor in Connecticut whose practice focused on special needs and autism, Andrew Komarow, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court docket in Hartford to defrauding three monetary providers firms of near $3.3 million. 

Komarow, 36, pleaded responsible to wire fraud, which has a most jail time period of 20 years.

Komarow of Avon, Conn., was arrested on March 2 after which launched on a $50,000 bond. Sentencing has not but been scheduled, based on a press release yesterday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Komarow’s scheme was akin to buying and selling on margin with out the belongings to cowl the margin debt. 

It’s been a gentle, downward spiral in recent times for Komarow, who was featured in InvestmentNews in May 2021 for his give attention to understanding special-needs financial planning.

He was registered with LPL Financial from 2016 to the top of 2022 after which briefly with Royal Alliance Associates Inc., now Osaic Wealth, based on his BrokerCheck report.

FINRA in 2023 barred Komarow from the securities business after he did not cooperate in an investigation within the wake of being accused by his agency final 12 months of not utilizing digital transfers of funds correctly.

A 12 months later, the Securities and Exchange Commission additionally barred the previous advisor from the business, claiming he engaged in a “free-riding” securities buying and selling scheme from October 2022 to January 2023.

According to court docket paperwork and statements made in court docket, Komarow, an financial backing advisor and dealer who serviced a spread of shoppers, “defrauded three monetary providers firms by making the most of credit score prolonged by the monetary providers firms and exploiting the delay in time from when he initiated Automated Clearing House – ACH – fund transfers, often known as digital fund transfers or ‘EFTs,’ based on the assertion from the U.S. Attorney Office.

Those funds transfers have been between Komarow’s private financial institution accounts and his private brokerage accounts, and have been made to the time when the transactions have been posted and cleared by the monetary providers firms, based on the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“Between roughly October 2022 and February 2023,  Komarow initiated roughly $8.9 million in EFT and ACH transfers from his financial institution accounts to a number of, typically newly opened, brokerage accounts regardless of having inadequate funds in his financial institution accounts to help the transfers,” based on the assertion  “He then used the brokerage accounts to conduct high-risk, short-term choices buying and selling in an try and make instant income to cowl his inadequate funds.”

“Through this scheme, the three monetary providers firms suffered complete losses of $3,352,507,” based on the assertion.