The  Securities and Exchange Commission has received a final judgment against a Sacramento, Calif., investment advisor and radio host whom the agency said defrauded senior citizens by not revealing conflicts of interest in the securities he recommended, the SEC announced yesterday.

Keith Springer and his firm, Springer Investment Management (doing business as Springer Financial Advisors), agreed to pay $400,000 in civil penalties ordered by the federal court in Sacramento for engaging in deceptive practices. Springer falsely told clients he did not receive any incentives to recommend particular investments when he actually did, the SEC said.

Springer promoted himself on his radio show, “Smart Money with Keith Springer” by saying he was sought out for the show because of his financial expertise when in fact he paid for the show to be broadcast in the Sacramento area, the SEC complaint said.

The agency’s complaint also said Springer and his firm breached their fiduciary duty by failing to disclose these arrangements and the conflicts of interest that resulted, filed false reports with the commission, and failed to maintain an adequate compliance program and required books and records.

He has also been barred from association with any broker, dealer, investment advisor, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization.

The SEC said Springer and Springer Financial received millions of dollars in undisclosed compensation and other benefits for recommending certain investment products while claiming there were no conflicts of interest. The complaint did not specify the amount of the compensation. Springer also went to great lengths to hide charges that the SEC filed against him and his firm in 2005 and his disciplinary history with the New York Stock Exchange, the agency said.

At that time, the SEC charged him with misrepresenting the performance of a hedge fund his firm managed by overvaluing its assets. In recent years, he hired internet search suppression consultants and instructed employees not to provide the information to prospective clients, the agency said. He settled the earlier complaint without admitting guilt or innocence.

When the complaint was filed, Springer said in a statement that his errors were bookkeeping and record-keeping mistakes. When the complaint was originally filed, the SEC issued an investor alert warning investors about the role that radio programs can play in soliciting victims for investment schemes.