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August 26, 2020 at 02:39 PM
A Southern California-based advisor who allegedly bought a Chevrolet Camaro using client funds and then a year later sold the same car to the client, as well as misappropriated over $2.2 million from clients, was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission this week.
Mark J. Boucher, 56, of Carlsbad, California, made unauthorized transfers from client accounts to his own accounts, used client funds to pay his credit card bills and forged client signatures on checks between 2010 and 2020, according to the SEC complaint.
Boucher worked for two different firms as an associated person during the 10-year period, and at times was registered as both a registered rep and an investment advisor.
His one-person firm, incorporated in 2015 for tax purposes, ironically was called SWAG, or Strategic Wealth Advisors Group.
The SEC complaint states that not only did Boucher not tell clients when he was terminated from a broker-dealer in 2016, he also “impersonated a client over the phone in order to have authorized a fraudulent wire transfer, told a client he could trust her (while he was stealing her money) and lied and made material omissions to cover up his fraud.”
In addition, Boucher diverted funds from client accounts to pay for car insurance, dinners and trips to a five-star resort in Hawaii, according to the complaint.
Fraud Details
In one instance, he created a revocable trust for a female client that named him as trustee.
