SEC Fines Ex-Stifel Rep Charged With Scamming Elderly Widow

"Rodemer used the funds for a variety of personal expenses, including to cover construction and maintenance costs on his vacation home in Breckenridge, Colorado, to pay insurance premiums, to fund an undisclosed brokerage account in his wife's name, to make credit card payments, and to pay for a number of other miscellaneous, everyday expenses like gas and groceries," the SEC said in the complaint.

From at least March 2012 through December 2019, Rodemer served as the client's advisor and handled all of her finances, including advising her on overall investment strategy and placing orders to execute that strategy, according to the complaint.

He also met with the client, identified only as "D.H." in the complaint, to discuss her finances and "had the authority to and did move money between her bank and brokerage accounts," the SEC said.

In addition to being barred from serving as a broker, Rodemer is no longer registered as an RIA, according to FINRA's BrokerCheck website. He was in the industry for 43 years. After a customer dispute that was settled in 1984, there was not another disclosure on his BrokerCheck report until he was discharged from Stifel this year.

Stephen Csajaghy, a partner at law firm Condit Csajaghy who represented Rodemer in his dispute with FINRA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the SEC settlement.