Firm, two execs fined, including ex-CCO, for misappropriating $220K, SEC alleges

Two executives at New York-based Momentum Advisors, including the firm’s chief compliance officer, allegedly misappropriated more than $220,000, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said.

Investment firms handle large amounts of money from members of the public, and as such, they are obligated by SEC and other rules to safeguard those funds and to closely oversee and report transactions.

Tiffany Hawkins, a former COO and partner at Momentum, and Allan Boomer, a former CCO and current partner at the firm, allegedly breached their fiduciary duties and misused fund and portfolio assets, the SEC said in in a press release Friday. The pair agreed to settle with the SEC, while neither admitting nor denying the SEC’s findings.