Ex-Wells Fargo rep barred and arrested for ripping off elderly

Authorities say Jeffrey Palish's misdeeds against elderly clients netted him anywhere from $180,000 to $600,000.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. has barred former Wells Fargo broker Jeffrey Palish for receiving more than $180,000 from an elderly client “with no intent or ability to repay” her.

Wells Fargo terminated Mr. Palish’s registration in November 2017 after its investigation and determining that he made misstatements to the firm regarding those transactions, Finra said in a letter of acceptance, waiver and consent.

Last week, according to a report on NorthJersey.com, Mr. Palish, a resident of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., was arrested by detectives from the Bergen County’s prosecutor’s office. The office received information in November that Mr. Parish was believed to have stolen at least $600,000 from elderly clients over four years, and that he had not made payments on a $100,000 loan he received from two clients. It was also reported that he had failed to report that information to Wells Fargo.

NorthJersey.com reported that Mr. Palish allegedly stole the money by selling clients’ stock holdings and then placed the money into a separate bank account through checks written by the clients. It also reported that Mr. Palish had made some 40 unauthorized wire transfers totaling $300,000 to make payments on his personal credit card.

Mr. Palish began his securities career in 1986 at McLaughlin, Piven, Vogel Securities, and moved to UBS PaineWebber in 1993. He joined Morgan Stanley in 2002 and Wells Fargo in 2010.