Liese ultimately sold the Interiors stock for approximately $40,931, prosecutors said. He then demanded a $10,000 kickback, they said.
NY Broker Charged in Kickback, Extortion Conspiracy
New York, Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- A Manhattan securities broker who allegedly bragged that he once had a former client's knees broken, has been charged with demanding kickbacks in return for selling a block of stock, prosecutors said today.
Federal prosecutors in New York say that broker Scott Liese told an unidentified client he could sell 39,400 shares of Interiors Inc., a Mount Vernon, New York, home-furnishings maker, in exchange for an undisclosed payment of 25 percent of the proceeds. Brokers may not accept such kickbacks, prosecutors said.
Liese's alleged scheme began in September while he worked as a broker at LCP Capital Corp. in New York and continued in October when he moved to Mason Hill & Co., a unit of New York- based Mason Hill Holdings Inc., authorities said. He allegedly told his client that he could sell the Interiors stock by bribing brokers at other firms to sell shares to their clients, prosecutors said.
Liese ultimately sold the Interiors stock for approximately $40,931, prosecutors said. He then demanded a $10,000 kickback, they said.
Liese's client, whose name was not disclosed, worked as a cooperating witness for the government and taped conversations with him.
According to an affidavit attached to the criminal complaint, Liese told his client that ''during the previous year, he earned approximately $1.9 million through similar transactions, and that he keeps the money in the Cayman Islands.''
The affidavit also alleges that Liese said he was planning to have another client's knees broken for failing to pay a kickback.
Liese is charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and extortion.
In a statement, Mason Hill & Co. said Liese was arrested on charges ''entirely unrelated to his employment'' there. A spokesman for LCP Capital said the firm was unaware of the arrest and that Liese had not executed trades in shares of Interiors while at the firm.
Dec/22/1999 17:14
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