A one-time financial advisor in Connecticut whose practice focused on special needs and autism, Andrew Komarow, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Hartford to defrauding three financial services companies of close to $3.3 million.
Komarow, 36, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, which has a maximum prison term of 20 years.
Komarow of Avon, Conn., was arrested on March 2 and then released on a $50,000 bond. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled, according to a statement yesterday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Komarow’s scheme was akin to trading on margin without the assets to cover the margin debt.
It’s been a steady, downward spiral in recent years for Komarow, who was featured in InvestmentNews in May 2021 for his focus on understanding special-needs financial planning.
He was registered with LPL Financial from 2016 to the end of 2022 and then briefly with Royal Alliance Associates Inc., now Osaic Wealth, according to his BrokerCheck report.
FINRA in 2023 barred Komarow from the securities industry after he failed to cooperate in an investigation in the wake of being accused by his firm last year of not using electronic transfers of funds properly.
A year later, the Securities and Exchange Commission also barred the former advisor from the industry, claiming he engaged in a “free-riding” securities trading scheme from October 2022 to January 2023.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Komarow, an investment advisor and broker who serviced a range of clients, “defrauded three financial services companies by taking advantage of credit extended by the financial services companies and exploiting the delay in time from when he initiated Automated Clearing House – ACH - fund transfers, also known as electronic fund transfers or 'EFTs,' according to the statement from the U.S. Attorney Office.
Those funds transfers were between Komarow’s personal bank accounts and his personal brokerage accounts, and were made to the time when the transactions were posted and cleared by the financial services companies, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Between approximately October 2022 and February 2023, Komarow initiated approximately $8.9 million in EFT and ACH transfers from his bank accounts to multiple, often newly opened, brokerage accounts despite having insufficient funds in his bank accounts to support the transfers,” according to the statement “He then used the brokerage accounts to conduct high-risk, short-term options trading in an attempt to make immediate profits to cover his insufficient funds.”
“Through this scheme, the three financial services companies suffered total losses of $3,352,507,” according to the statement.
Meanwhile, DPL Financial Partners adds two annuity executives and Prime Capital Financial hires a Mid-Atlantic retirement plan consultant
Elsewhere, Cetera picks up a $210 million Connecticut team from MML, while Wells Fargo FiNet adds a San Diego family practice from LPL
“We needed to become a more agile and efficient organization,” said American Express CEO Stephen Squeri.
Examiners will scrutinize fee conflicts, complex products and super intelligence threats as broker-dealers face fresh Reg BI and AML reviews
New launches tackle succession planning, AI-driven email management and heir retention ahead of the great wealth transfer
Knighthead Life entered the market with a competitive MYGA. A strong launch earned advisor confidence and paved the way for FIAs.
As AI makes financial information more accessible than ever, Lana Hock explains why human judgment, trust, and empathy remain the qualities clients value most in a financial advisor
