Firm Pays $2M for Bad Hire
July 2, 2009A Lynnfield, MA investment firm is paying nearly $2 million to settle charges of failing to supervise a broker who, after being arrested on a charge of rape, allegedly admitted stealing $3 million from clients. Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin announced yesterday that Investors Capital Corp. agreed to cover $1.7 million of client losses and pay a $250,000 fine for lax supervision of Stephen Clifford. “Whether you’re Bernie Madoff or some guy from around the corner, it doesn’t matter,” Galvin told the Herald. “You need procedures in place to protect investors.” Investors Capital is settling allegations that it failed to properly supervise Clifford or run adequate background checks before giving him a job. Galvin claimed Investors Capital founder Theodore Charles, a longtime Clifford friend, ordered the man hired even though a credit check showed the suspect had some $442,000 in debts.
To read the full article go to: http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/3246790
