Investment broker pleads guilty to bilking four suburban school districts
By: Tom MacDonald
A Philadelphia investment broker has pleaded guilty to illegally investing the money of four Pennsylvania school districts in a high risk investment that failed. The school districts lost millions as a result of the failed investment.
By: Tom MacDonald
tmacdonald@whyy.org
A Philadelphia investment broker has pleaded guilty to illegally investing the money of four Pennsylvania school districts in a high risk investment that failed. The school districts lost millions as a result of the failed investment.
Transcript:
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bernadette McKeon says the Boyertown, Perkiomen Valley, North Penn and Red Lion School districts gave Robert Bradbury of Dolphin & Bradbury blanket approval to put their money where he wanted. But state law required him to put the school districts’ bond proceeds in a safe investment. Instead, McKeon says he invested in a golf course.
McKeon: “Despite the obvious risks associated with the golf course project Bradbury did not disclose to the school districts any of the risks or the true nature of the investment. He also failed to disclose to the school districts two attempts to issue bonds for the project failed.”
McKeon says when the investment was going sour, Bradbury paid some of the districts by selling bonds to the other districts. The four districts lost about $10 million as a result of the fraud.
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[audio: reports20090318fraud.mp3]
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