German Nino has been charged with stealing $5.8 million from long-standing clients. Nino, 56, is a resident of Weston, Florida. He was a broker-dealer and investment adviser for UBS Financial Services Inc (UBS) from July 2012 through August 2020.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Nino stole the investment funds from his clients’ accounts and used most of the money on gifts for several women. Nino allegedly created fake account statements, forged signatures on letters of authorization, and altered UBS’s to stop notifications of wire transfers to conceal his misconduct.
In addition to spending the money on vacations, luxury cars, and private school tuition for his romantic partners, Nino allegedly used the remaining $1.6 million to replace funds he had stolen from another client.
German Nino Theft
Nino was the financial advisor for a couple who had invested approximately $11 million with UBS. As their advisor, Nino had discretionary authority over several of the clients’ securities brokerage accounts and allegedly told them he would invest their funds in securities.
According to the SEC, in May 2014, Nino began making unauthorized wire transfers out of the clients’ UBS accounts after liquidating their securities investments. Nino would allegedly deposit those funds into a bank account he created separately from his wife. He continued making alleged fraudulent transfers until February 2020, ultimately stealing approximately $5.8 million.
Until he resigned, Nino allegedly spent $4.6 million on several women he had romantic relationships with. The SEC report claims his purchases ranged from small gifts and vacations to private school tuition, apartments, and luxury cars.
Additionally, the SEC found that Nino spent approximately $1.2 million of the stolen funds to repay another advisory client from whom he had previously misappropriated funds.
Concealed Fraud
Nino allegedly created and provided the clients with falsified account statements with inflated balances to conceal his fraud. The SEC claims Nino also manipulated UBS’s records to prevent the client from receiving wire transfer notifications. For transfers of $100,000 or more, Nino allegedly forged the clients’ signatures on authorization letters.
Nino’s Fraud Discovered
In early 2020, the clients’ son discovered discrepancies with the account balance in one account and began to confront Nino. According to the SEC report, Nino eventually confessed to the son that he had stolen money and promised to repay the clients with a signing bonus that he would receive after joining a new firm. The clients alerted UBS, and the firm began investigating the issue. In February 2020, UBS requested that Nino participated in an investigative interview, but Nino resigned from his position with UBS instead.
Relief Requested
The SEC’s complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The SEC requests injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties due to violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced criminal charges against German Nino in a parallel action.