SEC ALLEGES FORMER REGISTERED REPRESENTATIVE STOLE FROM INVESTOR'S ACCOUNT

FROM:  SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SEC Charges Former Registered Representative with Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Kevin P. O'Brien (O'Brien), a former registered representative, with fraud in connection with the misappropriation of over $298,000 from the account of a customer between 1998 and 2008. O'Brien has agreed to settle the charges, without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission's complaint.

The Commission's complaint, filed February 21, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, alleges that, from at least 1998 through August 2008, while working as a registered representative, O'Brien engaged in a fraudulent scheme to misappropriate money from a customer. The complaint alleges that O'Brien caused checks to be issued in the customer's name from the customer's account, picked up the checks from a post office box that he controlled, and deposited them into a bank account in the customer's name. The complaint further alleges that O'Brien withdrew the money from his customer's bank account, which O'Brien had the ability to control, and used the money for personal expenses unrelated to the customer.

O'Brien has consented to the entry of a final judgment that permanently enjoins him from future violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The final judgment also orders disgorgement of $298,917, plus prejudgment interest of $54,020, but waives the payment of all disgorgement and all prejudgment interest based upon O'Brien's inability to pay. The Commission also did not seek a civil money penalty based upon O'Brien's inability to pay.