SEC Charges Former Raymond James Broker for Allegedly Stealing $1 Million from Seniors
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged former Raymond James broker Frederick Stow for allegedly defrauding two seniors of nearly $1 million.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged former Raymond James broker Frederick Stow for allegedly defrauding two seniors of nearly $1 million.
According to his BrokerCheck profile, Stow spent five years with Raymond James before he was fired in May 2019 for “misappropriating funds from customer accounts.” Later that year, he was automatically barred by FINRA for failing to respond to their requests for information.
The SEC said that Stow worked with one of the alleged victims, a World War II-era veteran, for more than three decades. In October 2015, according to the SEC, Stow began making unauthorized sales of securities from the veteran’s individual retirement account and transferred the proceeds to his own bank account 74 times using falsified wire transfer forms.
The complaint further alleges that approximately one month after the veteran’s death in March 2019 at the age of 98, Stow stole money from another senior by wiring money from their brokerage account to his personal bank account without authorization. In total, the SEC claims Stow stole $933,500 from the two seniors.
“Far too often, veterans and seniors who depend on their investments for retirement income are targeted by fraudulent schemes,” said Justin Jeffries, associate regional director for the SEC’s Atlanta regional office. “As alleged in our complaint, Stow took advantage of these seniors, abusing his access to their brokerage accounts to generate income for himself.”
The SEC has charged Stow in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee with violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC is seeking injunctive relief, return of allegedly ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Tennessee filed criminal charges against Stow.
