Massachusetts Authorities Arrest James Knee

According to reports, authorities have arrested former financial advisor, James Knee, for allegedly stealing $250,000 from a client.

Last week customs authorities detained James Knee, as he was traveling back from Mexico. He was then arrested by Massachusetts State Police and handed over to New Hampshire authorities, according to reports.

Knee allegedly took $250,000 through multiple transactions from the same client from September 2014 to August 2016 and used the money for personal expenses instead of investing it for the client’s benefit,according to the Union Leader newspaper.

Knee allegedly moved to the Ukraine for several months and allegedly made statements that he did so to avoid extradition, according to New Hampshire Senior Attorney General.

He then flew to Mexico and in February came back to Concord, where he has previously lived. He then returned to Mexico and flew into Logan Wednesday, according to reports.

Knee was ordered to surrender his passport and not leave the state. He was also reportedly ordered not to have contact with the client involved nor with witnesses, according to the article in Union Leader.

According to reports, Knee’s probable cause hearing is scheduled for March 16.

According to Knee’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, Knee has been working in the securities industry since 1988 and has worked for 10 different firms since then. Most recently he worked for Voya Financial Advisors, Ameriprise Financial Services and Investors Capital Corp.

He was reportedly fired from Voya in 2016 for failure to cooperate with an internal investigation concerning the receipt of a cash gift from a client, according to his BrokerCheck profile.

In addition to the State of New Hampshire investigation, Knee has four customer disputes listed on his Broker report dating back to 2002, three of which were denied and one settled. He has not been registered with any firm since being discharged from Voya.

Failure to Supervise

Brokerage firms are required to adequately supervise their advisors. They must ensure they are complying with FINRA rules.

When brokers abuse client accounts and conduct transactions that violate securities laws, the brokerage firm they are working with may be liable for investment losses. Brokerage firms that fail to monitor the business activities of their employees may be liable for investment losses due to negligent supervision for the misconduct of their employees.

The brokerage firms can be held responsible for any losses in a FINRA arbitration claim if it is determined that they failed to properly supervise their agent.

Are you concerned about investments you made with James Knee? If so, the attorneys at The White Law Group may be able to help you. For a free consultation with a securities attorney, please call (888) 637-5510.

The foregoing information, which is all publicly available, is being provided by The White Law Group.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Franklin, Tennessee. For more information, please visit our website, www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.