San Diego Advisor Barred From The Industry

A San Diego financial advisor and his investment firm have been barred from involvement in the financial industry by the by a federal court for allegedly stealing clients and private information about them from his former firm. The complaint was filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and agreed to by Parker Terrill Austin, 42, and Embarcadero Capital Advisors, in U.S. District Court Central District of California Southern Division. Austin and the firm also agreed to pay $147,000 in disgorgement and civil penalties. Austin and the firm agreed to the complaint without admitting to or denying the charges. The SEC complaint said Austin was fired by his original firm in December 2023 when it found out Austin was sending private information about clients to his personal email. The actions continued even after the SEC questioned about it, the complaint said. Austin set up his own firm, Embarcadero, where he was president and CEO. To lure clients to his new firm, he and the firm misrepresented the circumstances of his firing in SEC documents and in the firm’s promotional materials, the complaint said. In the process of setting up his own firm, Austin had an assistant send hundreds of addresses and billing information of clients to his personal email, the complaint said. He also changed investments to riskier ones than the clients had approved, the SEC said, adding that early in the process he had argued with the management of his original firm because he thought they were investing too conservatively. The complaint said Austin “carelessly or recklessly” filed information with the SEC and on promotional materials denying his legal history. It was only corrected after the SEC issued subpoenas to get it changed. At some points during the investigation, the SEC said, Austin told the SEC a colleague had sent client information to his personal email by mistake. Austin and Embarcadero defrauded their clients and prospective clients by giving them false information about Austin’s firing to induce them to join the firm, the SEC said. Austin could not be reached for comment.