FINRA Charges Former BofA Analyst with Spending $21,000 on Corporate Card at “Adult Venue”
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has charged Paramveer Singh, a former Bank of America Securities registered representative and research analyst, with charging nearly $21,000 to his corporate credit card at an adult entertainment establishment.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has charged Paramveer Singh, a former Bank of America Securities registered representative and research analyst, with charging nearly $21,000 to his corporate credit card at an adult entertainment establishment.
FINRA claims that on the evening of May 29, 2019, and continuing until the early morning, less than three weeks after joining Bank of America Securities, Singh went to an “adult venue” on a non-business-related visit and made eight separate charges on his corporate card totaling nearly $20,800. He also allegedly made two charges on his personal credit card totaling $8,400 during the same visit.
On May 30, 2019, at 2:42 a.m., Singh purportedly called the corporate credit card call center after certain charges at the venue were declined. The call was recorded.
During the call, Singh allegedly told the representative that he was with a client and inquired why the charges were declined. FINRA claims that he verified his identity and provided specific details about his corporate card, including the credit limit and his email address on file.
The following day, he called the call center again, claiming that his corporate card was lost at the venue and that the charges were fraudulent.
During July 2019 phone interviews with Bank of America, Singh told the firm that the card was stolen at the venue and all of the charges were fraudulent. He was terminated in October 2019 for “conduct involving misuse of a corporate credit card inconsistent with firm policy.”
During an on-the-record testimony with FINRA staff, Singh repeatedly testified that he did not make or authorize the May 30, 2019 charges on his corporate card and denied that the recorded call to the call center was him after listening to the recording.
Singh stated, “I am 100 percent certain that I did not make the charges…I did not authorize those charges and I have no idea who actually used it on May 29th/May 30th.”
BofA paid the charges, and FINRA claims that Singh has yet to repay his former employer.
According to the complaint, Singh is accused of converting funds for personal use, misuse of funds, and providing false or misleading information to FINRA.
Singh is not currently registered with any FINRA member firm.
