A broker who went to jail for fraudulently claiming a signing bonus from Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch must pay back about $360,000 he still owes the company, an arbitration panel has ruled.
Steven Mandala was sentenced to two to six years in prison last June after he admitted to lying about his employment history to land a job at Merrill Lynch in April 2009 that came with a $780,000 signing bonus. Mr. Mandala, who claimed to be a big producer, quit in June 2009 after frequently failing to show up for work and bringing in just two or three clients with assets of about $20,000, prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office had alleged.
In a decision dated May 19, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel said that Mr. Mandala is responsible for the $360,000 he still owes from that bonus, plus interest and legal fees. The state court that sentenced Mr. Mandala already said he would be responsible for repaying the money.
"We're pleased with the decision," Merrill Lynch spokesman Bill Halldin said Monday.
Before being hired by Merrill, Mr. Mandala lied to the company and said that he was a partner at another firm, with $300 million in assets under management, and that his work produced $1.5 million in revenue, prosecutors said. They said he produced false pay stubs, tax returns and W-2 forms to back up his claim.
Prosecutors said Mr. Mandala, less than a week after being hired, used $245,580 of the bonus he received to purchase a Ferrari in his father's name. Merrill Lynch's Mr. Halldin said Monday that the approximately $420,000 the company previously recovered from Mr. Mandala included proceeds from the sale of the Ferrari.
Steven Mandala was sentenced to two to six years in prison last June after he admitted to lying about his employment history to land a job at Merrill Lynch in April 2009 that came with a $780,000 signing bonus. Mr. Mandala, who claimed to be a big producer, quit in June 2009 after frequently failing to show up for work and bringing in just two or three clients with assets of about $20,000, prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office had alleged.
In a decision dated May 19, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel said that Mr. Mandala is responsible for the $360,000 he still owes from that bonus, plus interest and legal fees. The state court that sentenced Mr. Mandala already said he would be responsible for repaying the money.
"We're pleased with the decision," Merrill Lynch spokesman Bill Halldin said Monday.
Before being hired by Merrill, Mr. Mandala lied to the company and said that he was a partner at another firm, with $300 million in assets under management, and that his work produced $1.5 million in revenue, prosecutors said. They said he produced false pay stubs, tax returns and W-2 forms to back up his claim.
Prosecutors said Mr. Mandala, less than a week after being hired, used $245,580 of the bonus he received to purchase a Ferrari in his father's name. Merrill Lynch's Mr. Halldin said Monday that the approximately $420,000 the company previously recovered from Mr. Mandala included proceeds from the sale of the Ferrari.
0 comments:
Post a Comment