A former JPMorgan Chase & Co. broker faces federal charges that he stole $20 million from customers, only to lose at least $13.5 million in bets on Tesla Motors Inc., Apple Inc. and other companies. Michael Oppenheim induced clients to withdraw hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars from their accounts by promising he’d invest the money in low-risk municipal bonds to be held at the bank, FBI Special Agent Matthew Taylor said in a criminal complaint in Manhattan federal court. Instead, Oppenheim pocketed the cash or invested it in companies including Tesla, Google Inc. and Netflix Inc., the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a related civil lawsuit. “Soon after each deposit, Oppenheim typically lost the entire amount,” the SEC said. Oppenheim, who was fired by the bank last month, was arrested Thursday on fraud and embezzlement charges at his home in Livingston, New Jersey, and later released on a $1 million bond by a federal magistrate judge in New York. At one point, he had about 500 clients and almost $90 million under his management, according to the criminal complaint. “He’s going to plead not guilty,” Oppenheim’s attorney, Robert Gamburg, said after court. Four Years The thefts began in March 2011 and lasted for four years, the FBI said. Oppenheim, 48, also used the money to pay personal bills including a home loan, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s complaint. In some instances, “Oppenheim simply withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients’ accounts without their knowledge,” Taylor said. The FBI’s criminal complaint doesn’t provide details on Oppenheim’s alleged investments. “We are sorry and angry this happened,” Michael Fusco, a spokesman for the New York-based bank, said in an e-mailed statement. “We always stand by our customers and will ensure no customer who had their money stolen will lose any funds related to this.” The case is U.S. v. Oppenheim, 15-mj-1255, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan). The civil case is SEC v. Oppenheim, 15-cv-2357, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
It blows my mind how an idiot like this thinks he can just steal tons of money from account holders and then spend it however he wants without realizing that the hammer's going to drop at some point. WTF??
something in this article smells fishy. No broker is ever allowed or has discretion/permission to withdraw funds. They can allocate funds to buy/sell securities but they are not allowed to divert funds to third-party accounts. At least I have never ever heard of such discretion ever.
He might have thought of making a quick profit and then giving some percentage to client and pocketing the rest. What's strange is that those who have enough funds are as vulnerable to trickery as those without. For some reason I have this belief that those with more money are a better judge of character and are sharper. Maybe this is a faulty belief and needs reexamining.
I'd say he's an excellent judge of character, i.e., of the gullibility of those who characters make them vulnerable to this sort of thing.
Lusting is supposed to have sold the Eiffel Tower a few times and even conned Al Capone. A set of instructions known as the "Ten Commandments for Con Men" has been attributed to Lustig: Be a patient listener (it is this, not fast talking, that gets a con man his coups). Never look bored. Wait for the other person to reveal any political opinions, then agree with them. Let the other person reveal religious views, then have the same ones. Hint at sex talk, but don't follow it up unless the other person shows a strong interest. Never discuss illness, unless some special concern is shown. Never pry into a person's personal circumstances (they'll tell you all eventually). Never boast - just let your importance be quietly obvious. Never be untidy. Never get drunk. Gringo
Sociopaths usually don't have complex schemes. They succeed by just running their undisclosed agenda right under everybody's nose. They also are unaware of consequences pretty muchly, even if they have suffered said consequences before. It's just soooo easy to be taken in by them, just way too easy....
Well and then the clients gave it back to him to invest in equities or stock options? Sounds like an author straightened out that story quite a bit...