Former Edward Jones Broker Under Investigation for SEC Charges Alleging Theft of $1.2 Million to Remodel Home

Silver Law Group is investigating former Edward Jones (CRD# 250) broker Bernard M. Parker (CRD# 2010184) after the SEC charged him for stealing investors’ money so he could remodel his home.

Parker has a lengthy list of disclosures according to his FINRA BrokerCheck report.  In total, Parker has 14 disclosures.

Parker didn’t start off on the right foot, with his first employing firm, North American Management, Inc., permitting him to resign a mere three years after entering the industry due to an investigation involving the sale of unregistered securities without compliance approval by the firm.

Over the next 10 years, Parker would accumulate tax liens totaling over $90,000.  His most serious transgressions would being in 2014.

In 2014, Edward Jones terminated Parker after Parker allegedly admitted selling certificates that represented ownership in state tax liens away from the firm and misappropriating a portion of the funds that were to be invested in the state tax liens.  Additionally, according to the BrokerCheck report, Parker admitted to providing false information to the firm concerning his outside business activity.

In 2015, aFINRA arbitration related to the employment separation allegations would later be settled for over $230,000, and FINRA permanently barred Parker after he allegedly failed to respond to FINRA’s request for information.

Currently there are regulatory actions pending against Parker, including a criminal action, a civil action commenced by the SEC, and a civil action commenced by the State of Pennsylvania.

The SEC complaint alleges Parker conducted an unregistered and fraudulent offering of securities that raised more than $1.2 million from at least 22 investors through Parker Financial Services, a company owned and operated by Parker from his home.  Parker would induce investments by make false and misleading statements.

The SEC alleges he withdrew more than $650,000 in investor funds to remodel his home and pay other bills.

The writing may have been on the wall for Parker, assuming the SEC allegations are true.  According to his BrokerCheck report, he seemed to have made a practice of selling away from his firm and conducting outside business.

The term “selling away” is used when a broker sells or solicits the sale of securities that are not held or offered by the brokerage firm he or she is associated.  Usually, the investments sought to be sold by the rogue broker are not approved by the employing firm and are often private placements or other alternative investments.

In this case, the investment was a sham altogether.

Contact Our Firm if You’ve Lost Money

If you have invested with Bernard M. Parker and Edward Jones and have lost money doing so, you may be able to recover some or all of your losses.  Our lawyers are experienced in recovering investor losses due to broker and brokerage firm misconduct through FINRA arbitration.

Silver Law Group represents the interests of investors who have been the victims of investment fraud.  If you have questions about your legal rights, please contact Scott Silver of the Silver Law Group for a free consultation at ssilver@silverlaw.com or toll free at (800) 975-4345.