An advisor with “penchant for international travel” racked up massive amounts of credit card debt, and allegedly used client assets to pay it off, the SEC claims.
On August 23, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Marcus Boggs, an investment advisor representative at the Chicago office of a “large financial services firm,” with stealing more than $1.7 million from at least three of his clients.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois also filed criminal charges against Boggs on the same day.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Boggs, whom Crain’s Chicago Business identified as an advisor with Merrill Lynch, misappropriated his clients’ money by selling securities in their advisory accounts and then transferring the proceeds to his personal credit card account.
During the period he was allegedly stealing his clients’ money, he frequently vacationed in foreign countries—including Europe, South America, Canada, and the Caribbean—and stayed in luxury hotels.
“Boggs was an active member of Chicago’s philanthropic community, and regularly attended a variety of fundraising events for prominent Chicago cultural institutions,” the SEC said. “This allowed Boggs to present himself as a socially-minded financial professional, mingle with wealthy individuals, and have a platform for meeting potential clients.”
Credit card transfers
Noting that Boggs did not have discretionary authority, the complaint further alleges that from 2016 to 2018, Boggs made more than 200 illegal transfers from three advisory clients’ accounts to his personal credit card account.
“The Financial Institution discovered Boggs’s theft in 2018. In November 2018, the Financial Institution placed Boggs on administrative leave, and terminated his employment the following month.”
The SEC’s complaint filed in the Northern District of Illinois alleges that Boggs violated the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
