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NEWARK
– The Division of Consumer Affairs’
Bureau of Securities finalized administrative
actions against two financial advisors who,
in 2008, were denied
registration by the Bureau to work in New
Jersey’s securities industry. The
Order denying their agent and investment
adviser representative registrations was
entered after a Bureau investigation had
revealed that the funds of an elderly client
and a non-profit foundation she had established
were misused.
John
Edward Mullins and Kathleen Maria Mullins,
husband and wife of Margate, N.J., respectively
were assessed $40,000 and $18,000 in civil
penalties, under terms of their Administrative
Consent Orders with the Bureau of Securities.
John Mullins also is barred from working
in the state’s securities industry.
Kathleen Mullins agreed not to apply or
act as an investment adviser representative,
and any future agent registration will be
restricted with a heightened supervisory
agreement.
“We
hold securities professionals accountable
for their misdeeds. Those who think they
can defraud investors and enrich themselves
will find out how very wrong they are,”
Attorney General Paula T. Dow said.
The
Mullins became trustees of a non-profit
foundation created by the late Esther C.
Weil, a supporter of the Kimmel Center for
the Performing Arts of Philadelphia and
the Choral Arts Society. The Mullins both
worked at the Morgan Stanley office in Northfield,
N.J., from June, 2002 to August, 2006, when
they were terminated for violating company
policies.
As set forth in the Administrative Consent
Order with John Mullins, in 2006 when the
95-year-old Weil became seriously ill, Mullins:
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Charged $16,500 to the Foundation’s
Morgan Stanley account, which included
the purchase of gift certificates in the
amount of $5,500 from Boyd’s Department
Store and $11,000 from Four Seasons Hotel
and Resorts, the majority of which went
to John and Kathleen Mullins’ benefit,
including the use of $4,000 of the Four
Seasons gift certificates towards a personal
vacation to London, England;
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Converted $375,000 of Weil’s assets
for his personal use; and
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Charged Weil’s Foundation account
$1,634 to purchase 23 bottles of Beringer
Private Reserve Cabernet at Morton’s
Steakhouse in Atlantic City.
“Elderly
investors are inviting targets for con artists
because they are often isolated, willing
to trust, and have substantial assets that
they’ve built up through the years,”
said Thomas R. Calcagni, Acting Director
of the State Division of Consumer Affairs.
“One in five senior citizens nationally
are victims of financial fraud, and our
Bureau of Securities is educating elderly
investors about the scams we are seeing
as well as acting against those who are
targeting these investors.”
Abbe
R. Tiger, Chief of the Bureau of Securities,
added that “the Bureau remains focused
on imposing substantial penalties on those
who would prey upon the most vulnerable
among us.”
Deputy
Attorneys General Toral M. Joshi and Emanuel
S. Asmar represented the Bureau of Securities
in this settlement. Deputy Bureau Chief
Amy Kopleton, Supervising Investigator Susan
Largman, and Investigator Isaac Reyes handled
the investigation.
The Bureau of Securities can be contacted
toll-free within New Jersey at 1-877-I-INVEST
(1-877-446-8378) or from outside New Jersey
at 973-504-3600. The Bureau’s
website is located at www.njsecurities.gov
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