Stock Broker Stole $320,000 From 95-Year-Old Woman

A former Merrill Lynch broker has pleaded guilty to 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.
District Attorney Richard A. Brown said, &#8220As a broker, the defendant had a fiduciary responsibility to act in his client's best interests and to act honestly.”
The defendant has been identified as Peter J. Lau, 39, of 30 Butterfly Drive in Hauppauge, Long Island. He pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the second degree before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry Kron who indicated that at sentencing on September 20, 2006, he would impose a sentence of 11/2 to 41/2 years in prison and order the defendant to make full restitution to his victim.
According to the criminal charges, the defendant, while employed by Merrill Lynch and 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 that he maintained at Fleet Bank and Chase. The thefts took place over an 18-month period between June 2004 and December 2005.