On Monday, November 23, the Securities and Exchange Commission brought a civil lawsuit in federal court in Pennsylvania against former Edward Jones broker Bernard Parker (CRD# 2010184).
According to the SEC complaint, from 2008 through 2014, Parker allegedly defrauded at least 22 investors by offering unregistered and fraudulent securities through Parker Financial Services, a company controlled by Parker and operated out of his home. The SEC stated that Parker raised more than $1.2 million in the scheme.
Parker is accused of providing misleading and false statements to his victims, many of whom were his longstanding brokerage customers. The victims were allegedly told by Parker they would receive 6-9 percent returns each year by purchasing tax liens placed by municipalities on real estate in Florida, Arizona, and Colorado. According to the SEC, Parker only used a small portion of the funds received from investors to purchase tax liens, and instead used the majority of the funds to remodel his home, pay medical bills and other personal expenses, and make interest payments to earlier investors.
Parker was discharged from Edward Jones on November 26, 2014. In a parallel criminal action, Parker was indicted on Monday by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of securities and mail fraud. Parker appeared before the criminal court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he could face a possible sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
If you have invested and lost money with former Edward Jones stockbroker Bernard M. Parker, contact Meyer Wilson. We are investigating accusations regarding this scheme and we aim to help defrauded victims recover their losses. Call us today for your free case evaluation.
