The Colorado Securities Division charged former LPL Financial broker Sonya D Camarco aka Sonya D Fatchett of Colorado Springs with six counts of securities fraud and seven counts of theft.
The indictment comes one month after the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered Camarco's assets frozen in an alleged $2.8 million fraud and misappropriation scheme.
Camarco, who joined LPL in 2004, purportedly endorsed checks from clients' accounts and deposited them into an account she controlled.
As detailed in SEC's August complaint filed against Camarco in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, Camarco allegedly used her wholly owned company, Camarco Investments, to misappropriate over $2.8 million in customer funds by directing LPL Financial to make out checks, drawn on investor accounts, to an entity called "C Investments," which Camarco owned and controlled.
According to the SEC, not only were these transactions conducted without the authorization or consent of Camarco's customers, Camarco is accused of "intentionally forging client signatures" on check request forms that were used by LPL Financial in authorizing and, ultimately, drafting the checks made payable to "C Investments," that Camarco then deposited into a FirstBank account held by "Camarco Investments, Inc."
According to Colorado, "Camarco did not return funds to investors nor did she disclose to investors, one of whom was an elderly woman with dementia, that she was placing their money in the Camarco Investments account for her own use."
Camarco allegedly liquidated securities in client accounts, such as stocks and money market fund shares, in order to finance the unauthorized checks, made nearly $500,000 in unauthorized credit card payments, and intentionally caused the misappropriation of funds for personal use, including real estate, tax, and automobile payments, as well as cash advances or transfers from client accounts without their knowledge or consent.
While all of this was taking place, according to the SEC, Camarco told investors that, "their accounts were doing well and that there were no problems. Camarco omitted to tell investors that she was stealing money from investor accounts."
When one client began to ask questions about decreasing values in one such account, Camarco purportedly responded that the client was "spending too much."
LPL Financial discharged Camarco in August 2017 for depositing third party checks from client accounts into a Camarco-controlled account, and for accessing client funds for personal use.
Camarco's BrokerCheck report additionally reflects a pending customer dispute filed by a trustee of a living trust alleging misappropriation of funds and forgery.
If you have invested with ex-LPL Financial representative Sonya Delora Fatchett-Camarco of Colorado Springs, or with any broker or financial adviser whose fraudulent withdrawal, liquidation, theft, forgery, or other misappropriation of funds from your brokerage accounts has proven harmful to your investments or interests, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.