Sharp said he hired Boggs to ensure that he had “enough funds to sustain him for the rest of his life.” Instead, Boggs was accused of stealing about $815,000 from the client’s accounts to pay his mortgage and credit card bills.
Defense attorneys David S. Weinstein and Kenneth E. Yeadon argued that Boggs stole just 16.3% of Sharp’s settlement and Boggs shouldn’t be held entirely responsible for Sharp’s financial situation. They also noted that Merrill Lynch later compensated Sharp, and its payment “far exceeded” the money Boggs stole, the Chicago Sun Times reported.
In a court memo filed last month, Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Mitchell wrote that Boggs’ theft from Sharp stood out as “particularly egregious.”
Mitchell wrote that Boggs “amazingly” stole more than $800,000 from Sharp, knowing that Sharp had received that money “due to his wrongful incarceration for a rape and kidnapping” Sharp had not committed.
Merrill Lynch was not named in the criminal complaint against Boggs, the firm said.
The firm terminated Boggs in December 2018 for “conduct including withdrawal of funds from client accounts without their knowledge or approval,” according to his BrokerCheck record.
He was permanently barred from the industry by the Securities and Exchange Commission in February 2020. The broker-dealer moved quickly after the first complaint was filed by a customer in November 2018 who alleged there were more than a million dollars in unauthorized transfers made to Bogg’s American Express account from the customer's Merrill Lynch portfolio.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority barred Boggs from the industry in January of 2019 for failing to respond to requests for information after his termination.