Investor Lawyers Blog
Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) initiated an action against 40-year old Leon Vaccarelli by filing a sixteen-page complaint (“SEC Complaint”) in federal court in New Haven, CT. The SEC is alleging that Mr. Vaccarelli, based in Waterbury, CT, engaged in operating a Ponzi Scheme for more than four years, during which time he allegedly misappropriated client funds. The SEC Complaint alleges that Vaccarelli diverted client money from investment accounts, as promised, and instead used the funds for such personal expenses as mortgage payments. Moreover, the SEC Complaint alleges that Mr. Vaccarelli used client funds in order to make payments to earlier investors, a hallmark sign of a Ponzi scheme.
A review of FINRA’s BrokerCheck indicates that Leon (or Lee) William Vaccarelli (CRD# 3227636) entered the securities industry in 1999. Since that time, Mr. Vaccarelli has been affiliated with the following firms: Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. (CRD# 6363) (1999-2007), QA3 Financial Corp. (CRD# 14754) (2007-2011), and most recently — The Investment Center (CRD# 17839) (2011-2017).