SEC Bars Former LPL Broker for Churning Customer Accounts
The Securities and Exchange Commission barred a former LPL Financial broker for allegedly defrauding four customers by churning several of their accounts.
According to the SEC, from August 2008 to November 2014, Paul Lebel exercised de facto control over four customers’ accounts and excessively traded mutual fund shares which carry large front-end load fees.
Mutual fund A shares are designed for long-term, buy-and-hold investing, not frequent trading. The SEC said that Lebel executed numerous mutual fund A share trades that, “in light of his customers’ investment objectives, were fraudulent and without justification other than the generation of commissions for himself.”
Lebel was paid a total of $50,037 in commissions for the trades, and will pay $56,526 in disgorgement and interest as part of the settlement.
