Ex-LPL Broker Gets 4 Years in Prison for Raiding Older Clients' Annuities

The former LPL Financial broker who was barred from the industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and indicted last year, accused of defrauding at least 15 of his older and otherwise vulnerable clients, has been sentenced to more than four years in prison, according to the Justice Department and court documents.

Paul R. McGonigle, 67, of Middleboro, Massachusetts, had served as a financial advisor for his victims, “many of whom were elderly, one of whom had dementia, and another who suffered a traumatic brain injury,” according to the Justice Department.

He was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 54 months in prison and two months of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $652,987.

Starting no later than February 2015, McGonigle caused unauthorized withdrawals from victims’ annuities and induced them to give him money to invest on their behalf, which he then used for personal and business expenses, converting at least $1.4 million in all, the Justice Department said.

“McGonigle posed as clients on calls with their annuity companies and signed their names on forms requesting withdrawals from their annuities,” according to the Justice Department. “When some of his clients began to ask questions, McGonigle concealed his scheme by falsely assuring clients that their investments were growing.”

The Charges

In February 2023, McGonigle pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts to one count of investment advisor fraud, two counts of money laundering, three counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Four of the five victims cited in court documents were residents of Massachusetts, while the other was a resident of Florida.