One of UBS’s former top brokers in Puerto Rico, Jose Ramirez, has been sentenced to one year and a day following his guilty plea in a bank fraud case involving Puerto Rico closed-end bond funds.

According to the news article regarding the sentence, Mr. Ramirez pled guilty to pocketing $1 million in commissions from customers in the sales of UBS’s proprietary closed-end bond fund products. Mr. Ramirez permitted, and in some cases encouraged, certain of his clients to invest non-purpose loan proceeds into closed-end funds in violation of firm policy and the client’s loan agreements and provided misleading responses to branch management when asked about the activity.

UBS has previously made settlement payments to the SEC and FINRA totaling roughly $34 million to settle regulatory charges related to the closed-end funds. It has also paid out nearly $480 million to clients in FINRA arbitration settlements and awards.

At the Frankowski Firm, we have experience handling claims on behalf of investors who have lost money as a result of the collapse of the Puerto Rico municipal bonds. If you or someone you know has lost money or was misled into the purchase of a Puerto Rico municipal bond or related bond fund, while a UBS customer or otherwise, please call the Frankowski Firm at 888.741.7503 or fill out this contact form.