Former Cetera Advisor Receives Prison Sentence for Defrauding Clients

Posted on June 15th, 2021 at 12:01 PM
Former Cetera Advisor Receives Prison Sentence for Defrauding Clients

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:

An ex-Cetera advisor has received a five-year federal prison sentence after being convicted on six counts of wire fraud and two counts of bank fraud. According to court documents and the Justice Department, David Rockwell misappropriated client funds in order to purchase a house and pay off his personal credit card debt. The Florida native also received a $1.02 million money judgement based on the proceeds of his alleged wire and bank fraud. 

According to Brokercheck, Rockwell worked as an advisor for Cetera between 2015 and 2018; Rockwell was discharged from Cetera in November 2018 after Rockwell informed the firm he had been charged with a felony. In November 2019, Rockwell was barred by FINRA from working in the industry after he allegedly failed to respond to FINRA’s request for information. According to the complaint, Rockwell began misappropriating client funds in October 2017. Further, Rockwell allegedly forged his clients’ signatures on loan applications and listed the clients’ assets as collateral for the loans absent client consent or knowledge. 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, cetera, prison sentence

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

We just wanted to say thanks for your work in helping us get back some of the money we lost. We are not by any means rich, but we have saved some money and we have done so through a tight-fisted approach to most everything we do. So losing a significant chunk of money hurt…especially at a time when everyone else was growing their accounts. We really appreciate the work you did.

Allan and Adele

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

April 24, 2024
RIA Insurance Claims Skyrocket

A recent analysis by Golsan Scruggs reveals a staggering 231 percent increase in errors-and-omissions (E&O) liability claims among registered investment advisor (RIA)
insurers.

April 23, 2024
Surge Predicted in Regulation Best Interest Cases

According to a recent analysis, Reg BI-related actions quickly have ascended to the top five issues for FINRA, with fines totaling $6 million in 2023.

April 22, 2024
FINRA Fines Independent Broker-Dealers Over Cybersecurity Lapses

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has imposed fines and censured independent broker-dealers Osaic Wealth and Securities America for cybersecurity deficiencies that led to hackers accessing the private information of more than 32,000 customers.