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SEC Charges Former UBS Advisor with Stealing $5.8 Million from Client

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged German Nino, a former securities broker and investment adviser representative for UBS Financial Services Inc., with stealing $5.8 million from a long-standing client.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged German Nino, a former securities broker and investment adviser representative for UBS Financial Services Inc., with stealing $5.8 million from a long-standing client.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Nino stole the funds from his client’s accounts over a six-year period and used the majority of the money, $4.2 million, on gifts for several women with whom he had romantic relationships.

According to the SEC, Nino allegedly employed various methods to conceal his misconduct from his client, including creating fake account statements, forging signatures on letters of authorization, and altering UBS’s account records to prevent electronic notifications of wire transfers.

“As a financial advisor, Nino was entrusted with millions of dollars belonging to his client,” said Eric Bustillo, director of the SEC’s Miami regional office. “As alleged in our complaint, Nino took advantage of that trust by abusing his access to his client’s accounts for personal gain.”

In addition to spending the money on vacations, luxury cars, and private school tuition for his romantic partners, he allegedly used the remaining $1.6 million to repay funds he had taken from another client.

According to his BrokerCheck profile, Nino spent eight years at UBS. A single customer dispute states that Nino “stole money from him” between February 2018 until July 2020. The client’s requested damages were $2 million, and the case was settled for more than $5.8 million.

Prior to UBS, Nino spent five years at HSBC Securities, two years at Atlas One, and six years at Merrill Lynch.

The SEC’s complaint charges Nino with violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced parallel criminal charges against him.

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