OXNARD : Ex-Stockbroker Indicted in L.A.

A 31-year-old former stockbroker in Ventura County and the San Fernando Valley has been indicted in federal court in Los Angeles on 11 counts of fraud for allegedly stealing $100,000 from clients between 1987 and 1989.

Michael T. Donine of Santa Monica allegedly stole the money by falsifying letters of authorization from four customers that allowed their money to be transferred into bank and credit card accounts controlled by Donine, said Ronni B. MacLaren, assistant U.S. attorney.

Donine used the money for his own benefit, said MacLaren, who declined to elaborate. Donine targeted elderly clients who failed to scrutinize transactions, MacLaren said.

During the alleged thefts, Donine worked for a PaineWebber office, a Shearson Lehman Brothers office in Woodland Hills and a Prudential-Bache Securities office in Oxnard, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Authorities became suspicious when victims William and Betty Perlman of Los Angeles received a letter confirming that they had received two checks worth $31,000. The couple had not received any such checks, MacLaren said.

If convicted on all the charges, Donine faces a maximum penalty of 65 years in federal prison and more than $3 million in fines, MacLaren said. Donine is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday.

The indictment is part of a crackdown of the Securities Fraud Task Force of the U.S. attorney’s office and the result of a joint investigation by the FBI and the United States Postal Inspection Service.