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By Patrick Clark 8/07/12 12:36pm

White Collar

jessica harper 2

Fraud is Easy to Do (Doesn’t Hurt if You Work in Fraud Prevention)

The former interim head of fraud and security for digital banking at Lloyds Banking Group pleaded guilty to fraud and money-laundering today, according to a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service. Jessica Harper submitted false invoices between 2007 and 2011 totaling $3.76 million, and used the funds to help family members purchase property and to renovate a second home in France, according to press reports.

“Jessica Harper has today been convicted of the type of crime the bank employed her to combat,” Sue Patten, head of the CPS Central Fraud Division said in the statement. “Harper was expected to safeguard the financial interests of the bank. Instead, she submitted false invoices totaling more that £2.4 million over a period of four years. She has also pleaded guilty to laundering the funds of the fraud.” Read More

By Patrick Clark 5/25/12 1:22pm

White Collar

FINRA

And By ‘Outstanding Experience’ the Alleged-$11 Million Fraudster Meant a History of Compliance Violations

It’s called the FINRA BrokerCheck, people, and before you give some schmloe your money, it wouldn’t hurt to use it. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges today against a New York-based fund manager named Jason J. Konior, who allegedly sold $11 million worth of limited partnerships in his Absolute Fund LP, then siphoned proceeds to pay redemptions from earlier investors. So, like, a pyramid scheme. Read More

By Patrick Clark 5/08/12 12:28pm

White Collar

Waters tweets

Maybe Fund Manager’s ‘Value-Investing Approach to Rare Coins’ Should Have Been a Tip-Off

Say we were to offer you a value-investing approach to rare coins—a little fundamental analysis of the 1933 gold double eagle, say, or some exegesis on why the 1913 buffalo nickel is still trading under tangible book. Is that something you’d be interested in?

Because if it is, we have a guy you should meet.

A press release from the SEC occasioned a trip on the Wayback Machine yesterday, to see if anything turned up on one Arnett L. Waters, president and CEO of A.L. Waters Capital, a Braintree, Mass. firm that allegedly solicited investments in an array of funds, then used the assets to pay for the manager’s personal expenses.

Indeed, we found an interesting nugget. After sketching out his career in sales at a string of brokerages, including Merrill Lynch, Shearson Lehman and DLJ—details that appear to be borne out by a FINRA broker check—Mr. Waters’ claims to have made the observation that launched his career running money:

“The dramatic increase in rare coins in the 1970s and 1980s convinced Mr. Waters that a value-investing approach existed in the growing marketplace. Therefore, in 1990, he founded Windsor Park Ltd., an international purveyor of high mint state United States gold and silver coins.”

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