If you invested funds with Bernard Parker at Edward Jones, you need to keep reading.
Most recently registered with Edward Jones in Indiana, PA, Bernard Parker is now permanently barred from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public.
According to his FINRA BrokerCheck record, Parker is accused of stealing investor money to remodel his house and pay other bills. In fact, in November 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced fraud charges against Parker. In its complaint, the SEC alleges that Parker conducted an unregistered and fraudulent offering of securities that raised more than $1.2 million from his longstanding brokerage customers and others who were told they were purchasing legitimate tax lien certificates and would earn returns of six to nine percent annually.
Parker, however, only used a small amount of the funds he raised to purchase tax liens and instead used the overwhelming majority of the funds to remodel his house, pay his father-in-law’s medical bills and other personal expenses, and to make interest payments to earlier investors to ensure that his scheme was not discovered.
According to the complaint, Parker:
- Withdrew more than $650,000 in investor funds from teller transactions, ATM withdrawals, and checks cashed at local supermarkets
- Spent approximately $197,000 of investor money in point-of-sale transactions
- Spent $150,000 in personal checks
- Spent $169,000 for online bill payments
- Paid $188,000 in purported interest payments to earlier investors to keep his scheme from being discovered
While such behavior by trusted financial advisers may be surprising, it is not uncommon. If you have invested money with Bernard Parker or any other investor who you feel may have mishandled your funds, rest assured, you have rights. You may be able to recover their financial losses through the help of experienced securities arbitration attorneys.
The attorneys at Silver Law Group are interested in helping you, as an investor, explore your rights and recover your losses. Legal work is performed on a contingency-fee basis, meaning no fees are charged unless money is recovered. Simply contact us today.