Livingston Man Accused of Stealing $20 Million from Bank Customers

The federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is accusing a New York City-based financial adviser of stealing at least $20 million from his bank’s customers.

According to the SEC, Michael J. Oppenheim, a resident of Livingston, used the ill-gotten funds to pump his own brokerage accounts full of cash and then squandered the bulk of the money in highly unprofitable options trading.

In a release, the SEC alleged that Oppenheim abused his position as a private client adviser at a global bank to persuade customers to withdraw millions of dollars out of their accounts by promising he would purchase safe and secure municipal bonds on their behalf.

Instead, Oppenheim bought himself cashier’s checks and deposited them into his own brokerage account or his wife’s account that he controlled.

Almost immediately after each theft and deposit, Oppenheim allegedly embarked on sizeable trading of stocks and options including Tesla, Apple, Google, and Netflix. Oppenheim typically lost the entire amount of each deposit, and his brokerage accounts currently show minimal cash balances. On occasions when his accounts did have positive cash balances, he allegedly wired money to bank accounts in his or his wife’s name.

In addition, at least one outgoing wire was used to pay off a portion of his mortgage.

The SEC complaint charges Oppenheim with violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, as well as Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

The complaint seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest and financial penalties as well as permanent injunctions barring future violations.

The complaint also names Oppenheim’s wife, Alexandra Oppenheim, as a relief defendant for the purpose of recovering any customer funds transferred to her.