Friday, March 23, 2012

Brokers Gone Bad: Bales Had Troubled Broker Career Before Allegations


Robert Bales, the U.S. soldier suspected of shooting Afghan civilians, started selling community-bank stocks in 1996 as a 23-year-old driving a Chevy Cavalier. That may have been the peak of his financial career, Businessweek reports.

Before Bales enlisted in the Army in 2001 after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he worked at five firms in five years. After he left the industry, he was hit with a $1.5 million settlement for his role in swindling a couple out of more than $600,000 from their retirement account.

“He wanted to be an investment adviser, and he had a plan as to how he was going to accomplish that,” said Robert K. Cargin, who hired Bales in September 2000 at Quantum Securities Corp. in Westerville, Ohio. “It just didn’t work out.”

Bales, 38, is suspected of killing at least 16 civilians in Afghanistan on March 11. He may face charges in military court this week, his lawyer, John Henry Browne, has said…

More? Check out http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-23/bales-had-troubled-broker-career-before-war-crimes-allegations

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