The Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday that it has barred Kenneth A. Welsh, a former Wells Fargo broker and investment advisor who was sent to prison for fraud in July.
Welsh, of River Edge, New Jersey, was charged in 2021 by complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey with four counts of wire fraud and one count of investment advisor fraud. The SEC said then that Welsh stole at least $2.86 million from advisory clients and brokerage customers, some of whom were seniors.
"Welsh misappropriated customer and client account funds to pay funds owed on credit card accounts held in the name of his own wife and parents, which he used for his personal benefit," the SEC's 2021 complaint said. "He also caused numerous checks to be fraudulently drawn on his clients' and customer's accounts, which he secretly used to buy gold coins and other precious metals and to pay for his personal expenses."
In February 2022, A New Jersey Superior Court judge awarded $909,000 to one of the victims, eye doctor Kenette Sohmer, who filed a separate civil suit against Welsh.
On Nov. 20, 2024, Welsh pleaded guilty to wire fraud and investment advisor fraud charges before the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and was sentenced on July 28, 2025, to among other things, 44 months in prison.
Last September, the SEC settled a civil judgment against Welsh.
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