SEC bars ex-LPL broker already serving 12-year prison sentence

Thomas Caniford pled guilty to securities fraud, publishing false statements and theft from the elderly.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday filed an order to bar a former LPL Financial broker, Thomas Caniford, who pled guilty in state court in Canton, Ohio, in 2016 to 135 counts, including securities fraud, publishing false statements and theft from the elderly, according to Mr. Caniford’s BrokerCheck profile. He was previously sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Mr. Caniford was registered with LPL Financial from March 2008 to March 2015. He started in the securities industry in 1982 and had worked for nine firms, including LPL.

“The indictment to which [Mr.] Caniford pleaded guilty alleged, among other things, that [Mr.] Caniford made, issued, or published materially false statements or advertisements concerning securities” between 2010 and 2014, according to the SEC. He committed theft from elderly persons or disabled adults between 2009 and 2013 and committed securities fraud between 2009 and 2014, according to the SEC. He committed theft, grand theft and sold unregistered securities over a similar period of time, according to the SEC.

Finra barred Mr. Caniford in June 2015.

A spokesman for LPL Financial, Jeff Mochal, did not return a call for comment. Mr. Caniford could not be reached for comment.