Former UBS Broker Charged with $4 Million Fraud

Former UBS broker John MacColl was charged with defrauding more than 15 retail investors in a $4 million scheme. He used high-pressure sales tactics that targeted mostly elderly retirees, according to a complaint filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in federal court in Michigan. He persuaded clients to invest in a “highly-sought-after” private fund that would diversify their portfolios and provide investment returns as high as 20%, exceeding the returns they would receive with investments at UBS. Between 2008 and 2018, MacColl told investors to sell or take a line of credit out against the securities in their accounts and to deposit the money into their personal bank accounts, according to the complaint. He then told them to make checks payable to “Mac 011” or “Mac01”. He then added his name to the payee line and deposited the checks into his own account. Other criminal charges were filed in a federal court in Michigan this week. One victim invested her life savings and money from her deceased husband’s life insurance payout, which she was going to use to pay for college for her three children. MacCall spent the money on personal expenses, and about $410,000 was used to pay back other investors in a ponzi-scheme fashion.