The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced fraud charges against a former stockbroker accused of stealing investor money to remodel his house and pay other bills.

In the complaint, the SEC alleges that Bernard M. Parker raised over $1.2 million from his longstanding brokerage customers and others who were told they were purchasing legitimate real estate tax lien certificates and would earn returns in the range of 6% to 9% annually.

However, authorities say Parker only used a small amount of investor funds to purchase tax liens and instead used their money to remodel his home in Indiana, Pennsylvania, make car payments, and pay bills for his father-in-law.

Parker pooled the money he raised from investors into several bank accounts, and when he cashed investors’ checks he routinely deposited a portion of the money into a bank account and took the remainder in cash, according to the charges.

Furthermore, the SEC says he withdrew over $650,000 in investor funds in cash from teller transactions, ATM withdrawals, and checks cashed at local supermarkets. Additionally, Parker spent roughly $197,000 of investor money in point-of-sale transactions, $150,000 through personal checks, and $169,000 for online bill payments.

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Authorities also say Parker made about $188,000 in purported interest payments to earlier investors in an effort to keep his scheme from being discovered.

Sharon B. Binger, Director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office, said:

We allege that while Parker was using investor funds for his personal expenses, he provided investors with computer printouts of vacant lots or homes and falsely told them that his company held liens on those properties. Once he gained their trust, investors gave Parker thousands of dollars apiece for purported investments, and he swiftly stole their money.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania announced criminal charges against Parker.

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