The Wall Street Journal has reported that Thomas Kelly, Binghamton-area financial adviser, has admitted to bilking 19 investors out of nearly $1 million.

According to the report, Kelly will be sentenced on June 28 and prosecutors say he could get up to 30 years in prison.

Prosecutors also allege that Kelly recommended clients sell legitimate securities investments to invest in a fictitious entity Kelly called Seneca Group.

The scam apparently went on for 15 years, ending in November 2010.

To the extent that Mr. Kelly worked for a FINRA registered broker-dealer at the time that he solicited these fraudulent investments, his employer may be responsible for any losses that occurred.

When a FINRA affiliated broker conducts business outside of the firm with whom he is registered the activity may be considered “selling away.” If a registered broker “sells away” from his firm, the firm may still be liable for negligent supervision of their broker representative and may be responsible for investment losses in a FINRA dispute resolution claim.

If you invested with Mr. Kelly and would like to speak to a securities attorney about your potential to recover losses through Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration, please call The White Law Group’s Chicago office at 312-238-9650.

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 Boca Raton, Florida.

For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at http://whitesecuritieslaw.com.