The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Ronald E. Filoramo, a former securities broker and investment adviser representative for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, with stealing $761,000 from two long-standing customers.
According to the SEC’s complaint:
Filoramo, of Coral Springs, Florida, stole the investment funds from his customers’ accounts over nearly a five-year period and used the majority of the money for gambling and related expenses. As alleged, to perpetrate the fraud, Filoramo recommended to the customers that they invest in certain high-yield bonds purportedly owned by a wealthy client of MSSB, who, according to Filoramo, wanted to liquidate his position in the bonds. According to the complaint, Filoramo instructed the customers to make payment directly to that wealthy client’s accounts, who, in fact, was Filoramo’s friend. The complaint further alleges that Filoramo’s friend transferred the customers’ money to Filoramo, without Filoramo ever purchasing any bonds for the customers, and that Filoramo concealed his misconduct from his customers by providing them with fraudulent documentation for the purported bond purchases.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, charges Filoramo with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.
To resolve the SEC’s charges, Filoramo agreed to the entry of a judgment that permanently enjoins him from future violations of these provisions of the federal securities laws and orders him to pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties in amounts that will be determined by the court upon future motion of the SEC. The partial settlement with Filoramo is subject to court approval.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Sagiv Edelman, and supervised by Jessica M. Weissman and Glenn S. Gordon, all of the Miami Regional Office. The litigation is being conducted by Teresa Verges. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
