|
QUEENS--A Merrill Lynch broker has been charged with defrauding an elderly client out of more than $320,000 by stealing checks from the victim's account, forging her signature on them and then depositing the proceeds into his own bank accounts.
"As a broker, the defendant had a fiduciary responsibility to act in his client's best interests and to act honestly" Queens district attorney Richard Brown said. "By allegedly improperly using his client's hard-earned assets for his own personal use, he failed to fulfill those obligations and must now face the consequences of his actions."
The district attorney identified the defendant as Peter J. Lau, 37, of 30 Butterfly Drive in Hauppauge, Long Island. Lau has been charged with one count of grand larceny in the second degree, 28 counts of forgery in the second degree and 28 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Brown said that according to the criminal charges, Lau, acting in his capacity as the victim's broker, stole 28 checks belonging to the victim, forged her signature on them, and then deposited the checks totaling $321,648 into credit card accounts he maintained at Fleet Bank and Chase. The thefts allegedly took place over an 18-month period between June 2004 and December 2005.
Lau was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court in Kew Gardens before Judge Joseph Zayas, who set bail at $100,000 and a return date of Jan.25. 1-8-06
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
|
