A former securities broker from Penacook had his professional license permanently revoked by the New Hampshire Securities Bureau after he was accused of luring a single mom into a bad investment.
Robert Raffa touted the sale of “low price, high risk” stock in Starstream Entertainment Inc. to a Manchester single mother of two, according to the Securities Bureau.
After taking her to Connecticut to show her a PowerPoint presentation that claimed Starstream had a financial interest in “well-known movies,” the woman invested a large portion of her IRA and life savings into the company. In reality, Starstream had “little to no revenues,” according the Securities Bureau.
Raffa also misrepresented the woman’s assets and investing experience on the Starstream investment paperwork.
“Raffa fradulently created the impression that the investor was appropriate for the stock when she was not,” the Securities Bureau wrote.
The bureau’s presiding officer, Kevin Moquin, ordered Raffa to pay restitution and penalties, on top of his lifetime license revocation.
In May 2016, Raffa was indicted by a Massachussetts federal grand jury for fraud involving the sale of stock in another company, which was inflated and then quickly sold in a “pump and dump” scheme, according to the Securities Bureau.