Less than a year after FINRA barred former Wells Fargo Advisors and LPL Financial broker Mario Rivero after investigating allegations he misappropriated $680,000 from multiple customers, the New Jersey US Attorney's Office charged Rivero with wire fraud, investment advisor fraud, and securities fraud for misconduct during his time at Wells Fargo, and bleeding over into his early days at LPL Financial.
FINRA's 2021 report barring Rivero from the securities industry found that Wells Fargo had opened an internal review of Rivero's conduct based on allegations by former customers. Nonetheless, Rivero voluntarily resigned from Wells Fargo in late 2020, joining LPL Financial just days before tendering his resignation at Wells Fargo. The US Attorney's report alleges that Rivero's misconduct persisted for at least one month after leaving Wells Fargo, at which time Rivero had already joined LPL Financial.
According to the federal fraud charges, Rivero persuaded at least five Wells Fargo customers, including elderly and disabled clients, to transfer funds from their Wells Fargo brokerage accounts to their bank accounts, and then onward to entities that Rivero controlled. Rivero allegedly misrepresented to his customers that he would invest their funds in the stock market, but instead of doing so, he allegedly diverted the funds for personal, unauthorized, and fraudulent use.
If you invested with Mario Rivero or with his former firms Wells Fargo Advisors and LPL Financial, or with any broker or firm that employed a registered representative who stole or misappropriated funds through misrepresentation or other nefarious means, and such fraud has proven harmful to your financial interests, please call an experienced FINRA arbitration attorney at The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.