Ex-Broker Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison and $3.5 Million in Restitution

A former broker, Thomas Brenner, of Orrville, Ohio, was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment by U.S. District Court Judge Donald C. Nugent after earlier pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, and engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from criminal activity.

In addition to the ten-year prison sentence, Judge Nugent also ordered Brenner to pay $3.5 million in restitution and serve three years of supervised release.

Brenner was a general securities principal and president of First American Securities Inc. As The DI Wire previously reported, in March of 2015, Brenner conspired to recruit clients to invest in United RL Capital Services LLC (“URL”), a company that purportedly financed medical laboratory developments.

Investors were solicited by Brenner over the phone, through letters, and in person while he misrepresented material information. Brenner indicated that investors’ money would finance medical laboratory developments; they would receive their money back, with interest, after three years; and that URL was as safe or safer than other existing investments.

Some investors, at Brenner’s encouragement, removed money from their individual retirement accounts to invest in URL, and represented this would not result in tax penalties. Instead of apportioning investors’ money, as promised, Brenner used the funds for his benefit, including to make large race car-related purchases, and to pay back tax debts. When investors inquired about their investments, Brenner misrepresented that they were secure and provided some investors with sporadic, minimal payments, disguised as installments of earned interest, all to lull investors into believing their money was safe and being used as promised.

Brenner learned he was being investigated for selling URL securities by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Despite this, Brenner continued to sell URL securities after representing to FINRA under oath that he would stop. He did not tell prospective investors about the investigation, that First American Securities Inc. could face closure, and that he could be suspended from associating with any FINRA-registered firm, which he eventually was.

According to BrokerCheck, Brenner was affiliated with First American Securities from 2011 to 2016. FINRA expelled First American Securities in March 2017 and Brenner agreed to pay $30,000 in fines, $189,000 in disgorgement and was suspended for 16 months until being barred for refusing to appear for FINRA-requested, on-the-record testimony.

Brenner was previously registered as a broker with Edward Jones from 1986 to 1991. He was also affiliated with Raymond James, First Allied Securities and Capstone Financial Inc.

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