Ex-Edward Jones Rep Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Scamming Clients
“We have fully supported and cooperated with the law enforcement investigation that led to the indictment returned against Molo last summer. The few Edward Jones clients impacted by Molo’s misconduct have all been made whole and remain clients of our firm.”
FINRA suspended Molo on Oct. 25, 2021, after he failed to respond to the regulator’s request for information, his BrokerCheck report showed.
Travel, Lottery Tickets
According to the indictment, from 2018 to early 2021, Molo falsely represented to clients that their investments with him would be income-producing and tax-free, and that they would receive regular, periodic interest payments.
But Molo did not intend to invest client funds and instead misappropriated their money to pay for personal expenses, including Cadillac XT5 and GMC Yukon sport-utility vehicles, home remodeling and construction costs, lottery tickets, travel and shopping expenses and cash payments to family members, the indictment alleges.
As a result of Molo’s scheme, he caused at least three clients to suffer losses totaling $778,000, according to the indictment.
SEC: Victims Were All Seniors
The SEC filed a separate complaint against Molo in the same court on Nov. 23, 2021, making the same allegations as the Justice Department and pointing out the defrauded clients were older clients.
The SEC’s complaint alleged that between January 2019 and November 2020, Molo stole a total of about $800,000 from two of his investment advisory clients and one of his brokerage customers.
According to the complaint, Molo persuaded the three investors to transfer money out of their advisory and brokerage accounts to another bank account, purportedly to invest in tax-free bonds. The complaint alleged that, in reality, the bonds did not exist, and instead of investing the money, Molo used it to pay personal expenses.
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