Broker Alert: Kyle Patrick Harrington Barred for Stealing Client Money

A FINRA investigation started in 2017 reached a resolution on December 31, 2018. The decision bared and imposed sanctions on a former broker, Kyle Patrick Harrington. A look into Harrington’s BrokerCheck record shows more than 13 disclosures in his 20-year history as a broker. In that time, he has worked at 17 different firms and was last registered with the broker-dealer Aurora Capital.

In the decision, FINRA affirmed the former broker stole funds from at least one of his customers. Records show a customer of Harrington’s wired almost $20,000 directly from her account to his personal account. He never returned the funds, but instead used them for his own purposes. To cover up the theft, he asked the customer to sign a false document stating the money was payment for a stay at one of his vacation rental properties.

The former broker also participated in the unauthorized business activity of trading unapproved private securities. He did not seek the proper approval for these outside dealings and the resulting transactions were not supervised by his firm.

Harrington also sought to obstruct the investigations by his firm and FINRA. He falsified vacation rental contracts and provided false documents and statements to investigators. Harrington claimed the income in question was for rental income and payments from a former broker-dealer firm.

The broker even involved his assistant, asking her to alter his bank statements. He then submitted the altered statements to FINRA investigators. During testimony, he misrepresented the documents as legitimate. The broker also changed his story. He provided a false written statement to FINRA saying the $20,000 was payment for his services as an advisor after he initially said the money was rental income.

FINRA ordered Harrington to pay restitution of $105,000, a monetary penalty of $10,454, and return $190,974 plus interest.

Conversion is theft and not only a violation of FINRA rules for brokers, but it breaks the law. If you have been the victim of unlawful broker contact, Sonn Law Group can help you recover your losses. Contact us today for a free case review.

Source: ThinkAdvisor.com, BrokerCheck.finra.org  

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