A former LPL broker and financial advisor was arrested and charged on Wednesday with defrauding his elderly clients and robbing them of their retirement savings, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts.

Paul R. McGonigle, 65, of Middleboro, Mass., appeared in court on Wednesday before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell on charges of three counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, the release said.

The court document said that beginning in July 2018, McGonigle allegedly caused unauthorized withdrawals from his clients’ annuities by posing as clients on calls with their annuity companies and signing their names on forms requesting withdrawals from their annuities. The checks were mailed to McGonigle. He also induced his clients to give him money to invest on their behalf, the complaint said.

The complaint said McGonigle would often misappropriate funds in clients’ accounts to cover up the fraud. He swindled more than $289,000 from at least five accounts belonging to his elderly clients, who were in poor physical or mental health, and used the loot for personal and business expenses, according to the indictment complaint.

McGonigle had been with SII Investments Inc. in New Bedford, Mass., for 19 years before moving to LPL in February 2018. He left LPL in June 2019, according to his BrokerCheck profile. According to the indictment, McGonigle continued working up until November 16, 2020, as a registered broker under the name Integrated Financial Services (IFS).

On that same date, he was barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for failing to respond to requests for information.

For the mail and wire fraud charges, McGonigle faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater, the court said. As for the aggravated identity theft charge, he could face a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater.