New York City Broker Charged With Scamming Elderly Clients

NEW YORK  —  A New York City stockbroker has been charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients — many of them elderly — and sending the money overseas to Nigerian scam artists.

Michael Axel of Tripp & Co. Inc. stole at least $600,000 from the accounts of four clients, three of them in their 80s and 90s, according to prosecutors.

Axel is accused of sending most of the money to a phony lawyer who told him he had inherited $8.75 million from a distant relative. That person told Axel he needed to send money for legal fees to free up the inheritance.

The 68-year-old broker has been charged with grand larceny. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Source: myfoxny.com via politisite