SEC Charges Financial Advisor with Fraud for Stealing Millions from Investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged former registered representative and investment adviser Michael Barry Carter with fraud for stealing from brokerage customers and an elderly advisory client. The SEC's complaint alleges that Carter, a financial advisor in the McLean, Virginia office of a large financial institution, falsified internal documents in order to effect dozens of unauthorized wire transfers, totaling millions of dollars, from the accounts of brokerage customers to his personal bank account. According to the complaint, to generate some of the funds that he misappropriated, Carter sold securities without customer authorization. As alleged, Carter employed various methods to conceal his misconduct from his brokerage customers, including diverting account statements to addresses he controlled.