The SEC charged Donna Tucker, a former UBS Wealth Management Americas broker, with allegedly defrauding a number of elderly customers by running a Ponzi scheme for five years. One of the elderly couples was blind. According to the SEC, Tucker misappropriated over $730,000 from her clients from January 2008 to April 2013 while working at UBS. Tucker then allegedly used the money to pay for vacations, three cars, clothing and a country club membership, all while lying to her clients regarding the status of their funds.

The SEC’s complaint states that Tucker made unauthorized trades and other financial transactions, made misrepresentations to her customers regarding their investment accounts, and falsified brokerage banking and other documents. She allegedly stole almost $350,000 from the blind couple by persuading them to do their banking online and receive electronic statements, knowing that they would be unable to retrieve their statements online. Tucker acquired $730,000 from the clients by forging checks, falsifying brokerage statements, and taking out unauthorized margin loans on customer accounts to repay other accounts.

Tucker began her career with A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in 2003. UBS paid her an incentive to join them in 2007. Tucker resigned from UBS in April 2013 while the firm was investigating customer complaints of misappropriated funds. After an internal review, UBS reimbursed several customers. FINRA barred Ms. Tucker in September 2013. In May 2014, FINRA ordered Tucker to repay UBS the remaining balance on three loans, which totaled $52,375.

The Frankowski Firm is currently investigating yet another potential Ponzi scheme. If you or someone you know has lost money as a result of an investment or Ponzi scheme, please contact Richard Frankowski at 888-741-7503 to discuss your potential legal remedies.