One advisor’s fraud case is a good news, bad news situation where her compulsion for risk has compromised her clients.
One advisor’s fraud case is a good news, bad news situation where her compulsion for risk has compromised her clients.
Adelia Kaminsky was sentenced to four years in prison March 11 by Provincial Court of Saskatchewan judge Daniel O’Hanlon in Battleford, Sask. Kaminsky, who was charged with committing fraud over $5,000, entered a guilty plea in early January and is said to have cooperated with the crown to the best of her ability.
The bad news in this particular instance?
Between 2006 and 2013, Kaminsky defrauded 12 investors (only 10 suffered any financial loss) of $640,000; most of them senior citizens between the ages of 52 and 86. Operating her own business known as AK Financial, Kaminsky helped these 12 people invest their money receiving a commission for this service.
Registered as a dealing representative with Sentinel Financial Management between 2003 and 2013, Kaminsky used two investment ideas – one entirely fictitious, the other highly speculative foreign exchange trading – to convince her investors to hand over almost two-thirds of a million dollars which she then used for her own personal enrichment.
What’s the good news, you’re likely wondering by this point?
Kaminsky spent a majority of the money gambling at North Battleford’s Golden Eagle Casino except for $124,000 which went to The Shopping Channel.
#pb#
According to the forensic accountant Kaminsky spent $5.8 million gambling at the casino over a seven-year period. However, the good news for her was that she was able to get back $5.1 million of that in winnings, which meant she actually only lost $665,000 or about $25,000 more than she stole from her clients.
Apparently without a gambling addiction, Kaminsky obviously had some compulsion for risk that pushed her to undertake such a fraud after 10 years selling mutual funds.
While WP is by no means an expert on the typical payouts by casinos, it seems logical that the results achieved by the former advisor are exactly what casinos want when they open their doors. You to win a little in order to lose a little more than that and so on until it adds up to a huge amount of losses out of pocket.
This case is regrettable in so many ways.
First, and most serious, are the number of unsophisticated investors taken advantage of by this person they trusted with their hard-earned savings. Advisors are held to a higher standard; Kaminsky betrayed this completely.
Also very serious but not directly related to financial advice is the utter futility of gambling. It’s a losing proposition for everyone – except the casino.
Adelia Kaminsky was sentenced to four years in prison March 11 by Provincial Court of Saskatchewan judge Daniel O’Hanlon in Battleford, Sask. Kaminsky, who was charged with committing fraud over $5,000, entered a guilty plea in early January and is said to have cooperated with the crown to the best of her ability.
The bad news in this particular instance?
Between 2006 and 2013, Kaminsky defrauded 12 investors (only 10 suffered any financial loss) of $640,000; most of them senior citizens between the ages of 52 and 86. Operating her own business known as AK Financial, Kaminsky helped these 12 people invest their money receiving a commission for this service.
Registered as a dealing representative with Sentinel Financial Management between 2003 and 2013, Kaminsky used two investment ideas – one entirely fictitious, the other highly speculative foreign exchange trading – to convince her investors to hand over almost two-thirds of a million dollars which she then used for her own personal enrichment.
What’s the good news, you’re likely wondering by this point?
Kaminsky spent a majority of the money gambling at North Battleford’s Golden Eagle Casino except for $124,000 which went to The Shopping Channel.
#pb#
According to the forensic accountant Kaminsky spent $5.8 million gambling at the casino over a seven-year period. However, the good news for her was that she was able to get back $5.1 million of that in winnings, which meant she actually only lost $665,000 or about $25,000 more than she stole from her clients.
Apparently without a gambling addiction, Kaminsky obviously had some compulsion for risk that pushed her to undertake such a fraud after 10 years selling mutual funds.
While WP is by no means an expert on the typical payouts by casinos, it seems logical that the results achieved by the former advisor are exactly what casinos want when they open their doors. You to win a little in order to lose a little more than that and so on until it adds up to a huge amount of losses out of pocket.
This case is regrettable in so many ways.
First, and most serious, are the number of unsophisticated investors taken advantage of by this person they trusted with their hard-earned savings. Advisors are held to a higher standard; Kaminsky betrayed this completely.
Also very serious but not directly related to financial advice is the utter futility of gambling. It’s a losing proposition for everyone – except the casino.
