SEC charges suspended broker with running a $5.2 million fraud
Phillip W. Conley of West Virginia is said to have lied to investors in a Ponzi-like scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Phillip W. Conley, a former registered representative based in West Virginia, with conducting a $5.2 million fraudulent securities offering.
Conley, who was suspended by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. in 2015 for failing to comply with an arbitration award, was alleged to have induced investors to purchase securities by lying about the investments. He also allegedly failed to invest the proceeds as promised, instead spending most of the money himself and using the remainder to make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal district court in the Northern District of West Virginia, seeks a permanent injunction, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest and civil monetary penalties.
Conley began his securities career in 2007 at Citigroup. He moved to Wells Fargo in 2010 and to Merrill Lynch in 2012. He left the firm in 2014.
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