FINRA barred former LPL Financial LLC and Commonwealth Financial Network associates Angela Marie Borchardt and Kenneth William Schulz for impersonating a handful of clients, including elderly and out-of-state customers, in an attempt to liquidate accounts while employed by Main Street Investment Group.
In Borchardt's own words to BankInvestmentConsultant, "It was impersonation."
FINRA Case #2013037650601 (Schulz)
FINRA Case #2013037650602 (Borchardt)
According to FINRA's investigation, Schulz and Borchardt's Main Street Investment Group switched from broker-dealer LPL Financial to Commonwealth Financial in May of 2013. When the switch occurred, the duo allegedly attempted to call LPL and asked to liquidate several client accounts.
The FINRA findings, to which the two brokers neither admitted nor denied, state that when Schultz and Borchardt moved from LPL to Commonwealth, several customers requested their securities be transferred over to Commonwealth; however, these securities could not be transferred because they were proprietary to LPL.
Investigators found that instead of telling the customers that their securities could not be moved, Schultz and Borchardt impersonated the clients in a series of phone calls to LPL requesting to liquidate the customers' nontransferable securities. By liquidating the accounts, the report states, Schultz and Borchardt—acting as their impersonated clients—could request the resulting proceeds be transferred to the new Commonwealth accounts.
FINRA concluded that the liquidations and transfers were not authorized and, when questioned, Borchardt falsely claimed that the customers were on the phone with her during the calls to LPL. Schulz was not charged with lying to supervisors, but FINRA accused both of failing to cooperate with Enforcement investigators.
If you have invested with Angela Marie Borchardt, Kenneth William Schulz, LPL Financial, Commonwealth Financial, Main Street Investment Group or with any other broker, financial adviser or investment firm whose impersonation of or unauthorized transaction activity in your account has proven harmful to your investments or interests, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for investigation and consultation.