A 39-year-old New Jersey registered broker and investment advisor was arrested today and charged with allegedly stealing more than $500,000 from clients and using it for gambling, travel and personal expenses, the criminal complaint stated.

Mario E. Rivero of Elizabeth was charged with two counts of wire fraud, one count of investment advisor fraud and one count of securities fraud, the complaint said.

Rivero worked at Wells Fargo Clearing Services from Dec. 2, 2010, to Oct. 1, 2020, leaving to go to LPL Financial until June 4, 2021, when he was permanently barred by Finra, according to BrokerCheck.

The Finra filing stated that initially Wells Fargo had indicated on Rivero’s Form U5 that he had voluntarily resigned. But on April 22, 2021, Wells Fargo amended that U5 to say it had initiated an investigation into allegations made by two former customers of Rivero. When contacted for more information by Finra, Rivero allegedly refused to cooperate and then consented on June 4, 2021, to being barred without admitting guilt. LPL terminated him the same day, according to BrokerCheck.

According to today’s criminal complaint by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, from April 2018 through November 2020, Rivero allegedly took at least $529,870 from four clients, three of whom were elderly, diverting the money to friends, family and personal accounts.

“Rivero abused his position as an investment advisor to target the victims, developing overly person relationships with them to gain their friendship and trust,” the complaint stated. “Rivero then took advantage of that trust by convincing the victims to sell a portion of the securities in their accounts and then obtaining their authorizations to transfer large sums of money from their brokerage accounts to their checking or savings accounts based on the promise that Rivero would invest their money in investments outside of their brokerage accounts.”

After the clients made the transfers, Rivero then allegedly obtained the clients’ authorizations to obtain cashier’s checks, which he would direct to one of three companies headed by either a family member or a friend, the complaint said, adding that business records showed that the companies then funneled the money back to Rivero.

When the clients became suspicious and confronted Rivero about their lack of return, they received a statement in the mail from a separate brokerage firm showing their investments—but the brokerage confirmed no such accounts existed and the statements were fictitious, the complaint said.

The securities fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The wire fraud charges each carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine, and the investment advisor fraud charge would mean up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.