Francis Martin Florey was quickly caught and fined by FINRA for both impersonating a wealthy client and attempting to steal their funds.
Florey started working for Wachovia Securities in 2007 and became registered in 2009. When Wachovia merged with Wells Fargo in 2009, he became an employee of Wells Fargo Advisors.
In February 2011, he opened a bank account in a customer’s name at ING without the customer’s authorization. He then transferred more than $100,000 from the client’s joint account at Wachovia Bank without their consent.
A month later, Florey attempted to steal more than $1,000 of the funds by transferring the money to his personal account at JP Morgan. When unable to provide verification information, he attempted to impersonate the client.
Turns out, though, his acting skills weren’t up to par. ING restricted the account and both banks notified their fraud departments.
Florey was charged with third-degree felony, and sentenced to two-year probation. He was also barred from employment in the securities industry and fined $10,000.
Bill Singer, Wall Street blogger, also says the case is even more compelling than would first appear; Florey targeted an elderly, long-time Wells Fargo client who was worth more than a million dollars.
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He also completely drained her Wachovia Bank account when first transferring the funds, which raised some red flags.
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