James P. Kolf, a state-registered broker-dealer since 1981 and an investment adviser from 2009 to August 2016, has had his licenses revoked and been permanently barred from the broker business by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, according to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal.
Over the years, Kolf worked for several large national companies in Madison and also listed himself as the sole proprietor of SFN Financial Network, which the state Department of Financial Institutions determined was a fictitious company.
Reportedly, he defrauded investors of a total of $905,000 promising to invest their money into energy companies that would yield 6% to 8% annually. Instead, Kolf made $47,572 worth of phony interest payments and used the rest of the money to pay off his Sauk County home, a car, credit card payments, legal bills, and a federal tax bill, according to the WSJ report.
DFI has yet to file criminal charges in the case, which remains open.
