A former financial advisor in Illinois who pleaded guilty to swindling some of his elderly clients out of money was sentenced to federal prison recently, Financial Advisor reports.
U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston sentenced 41-year-old Naseem Salamah to four years and four months behind bars, and also ordered him to pay over $968,000 in restitution to the victims of the fraud.
Salamah, who ran a branch office of NinePoints Advisors, pleaded guilty in October to fraudulently obtaining the funds from the accounts of at least three clients between August 2017 and May 2021. Authorities said Salamah told the clients he needed to move the money in order to diversify their securities holdings. Instead, he altered their authorization documents so that he could shift the funds to a bank account that he controlled. He then spent the money gained from the scheme on personal expenses, including vacations, luxury cars, dinners, and private school tuition for his children.
The Securities and Exchange Commission brought similar allegations against Salamah in a separate civil case, stating that he chose the three clients as his victims because he did not think they would pay close attention to their brokerage account statements. When two of the customers questioned him about their accounts, the SEC said Salamah fabricated brokerage statements and tax forms.
After another client’s daughter raised further questions about account withdrawals, Salamah was terminated from NinePoints Advisors in June 2021. In September, he was barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Financial advisor misconduct takes many forms, including advisors making misrepresentations concerning a particular investment’s features or risks, or acting without even consulting their client. The attorneys at Hyman Cotter PC are uniquely qualified to represent individual investors in investment-related claims against financial professionals and their firms, and we have experience dealing with a broad range of claims that rise to the level of financial advisor misconduct. If you have suffered investment losses as a result of misconduct by your financial professional or their firms, contact us at 312-291-4600 or through our online contact form for a free consultation.
