Paul Wescoe Smith – The Haverford Group – Pleads guilty to Mail, Securities Fraud
According to numerous reports, Paul W. Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of mail and securities fraud in a Federal Court in Pennsylvania. He has also reportedly been ordered to pay $886,214.00 in restitution. Smith’s allegedly swindled 30 mostly elderly investors during a 25 year time period.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Smith through his firm, The Haverford Group, allegedly raised $2.35 million by purportedly telling customers he would invest their money in publicly traded securities. Instead, Smith allegedly used the money to repay other investors and spent the money on personal expenses.
Smith allegedly mailed investors fraudulent quarterly account statements, showing certain monthly “credits,” and yearly income statements for tax purposes that claimed to break down the investment profits into taxable and non-taxable gains.
After liquidating the brokerage account in 2011, Smith reportedly made no investments at all despite continuing to accept new contributions from new investors.
Smith’s FINRA BrokerCheck report states that he was registered with Bolton Global Capital in Wayne, PA from 2007 until he was fired in February 2017. Smith was permanently barred from the securities industry in June 2017. He currently has 12 customer disputes listed on his Broker report.
Free Consultation with a Securities Attorney
The White Law Group continues to investigate the liability that Smith’s employer may have for failing to properly supervising him.
Brokerage firms are required to properly supervise their advisors. They must ensure that those advisors are complying with applicable FINRA rules and regulations. If it can be demonstrated that Paul Smith’s former employer failed to properly supervise him, the firm may be held responsible for the losses in a FINRA arbitration claim.
If you are concerned about your investments with Paul W. Smith and would like a free consultation to discuss your litigation options, please call The White Law Group at 1-888-637-5510.
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.
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