A Miami financial advisor spent most of $5.8 million he stole on women, the SEC says
The criminal charging documents for Weston investment advisor German Nino describe $5.8 million in unauthorized transfers he allegedly made from the UBS Financial Services accounts of a family who invested $11 million with the company.
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil complaint says Nino spent $4.6 million of it on “several women with whom he had romantic relationships ... from small gifts and vacations to luxury cars, private school tuition and an apartment in Colombia.”
As for the rest, $1.2 million, the SEC says Nino used that to make good with another client from whom he’d previously “misappropriated funds.”
Nino, 56, will appear in federal court on eight counts of wire fraud on Feb. 7.
Moving money in Miami
The criminal charging documents say Nino, who worked in the UBS Miami office, was assigned to manage all the accounts of a family, a married couple referred to as “J.R. and V.R.” and their son, “A.R.”
But, from May 2014 through February 2020, prosecutors allege, Nino made about 62 unauthorized transfers totaling $5,834,218 from three family accounts to third parties not named in the charging documents.
To cover himself, the feds say, Nino lied about how well the accounts were doing when talking or emailing with the family, as well as:
▪ Created fake letters of authorization and forged signatures of J.R. and V.R.;
▪ Took A.R.’s email off an account profile so he wouldn’t get email notifications of transfers;
▪ Created a fake real estate purchase contract and forged V.R.’s signature so it looked as if money was being used to buy land in Colombia.
This story was originally published January 26, 2022 at 11:38 AM.
