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Three of the victims conned by Mario E. Rivero, Jr. were elderly siblings who had eighth-grade educations, couldn't speak or read English and had "diminished capacity," Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said on Monday, March 14.
Rivero -- who'd known the siblings for more than 10 years before becoming their financial professional -- told them and others that their money "would be invested in his mother's and friend's businesses," Platkin said.
Rivero, a former Wells Fargo agent and investment adviser representative who had an office in Elizabeth, "used the majority of the funds for personal expenses that included gambling at casinos, restaurant meals and car payments," the attorney general said.
He also "used some of the misappropriated funds to trade in options and in less than two weeks lost all" of it, Platkin said.
The New Jersey Bureau of Securities revoked Rivero's registration for violating state law, the attorney general said.
He didn't say whether criminal charges were forthcoming.
Acting Bureau of Securities Chief Amy G. Kopleton called Rivero's conduct "illegal and reprehensible."
“Rivero took advantage of family friends and other elderly clients who relied on him for guidance and advice to finance his personal expenses,” she said.
The bureau’s investigation was handled by Supervising Investigators Rachel Glasgow and Irwin Slotnick and Investigator Gillian Spellman.
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