SEC closes book on Brian Block, former Schorsch associate, with $160,000 fine

Brian Block, a former associate of one-time real estate czar Nicholas Schorsch, has agreed to a $160,000 civil penalty and a permanent ban from serving as a director and officer for violating securities rules, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday. In November, a federal judge sentenced Mr. Block, formerly the chief financial officer of American Realty Capital Properties Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust founded by Mr. Schorsch, to 18 months of prison and a $100,000 fine after he was convicted of six counts of fraud. (More: How Nick Schorsch lost his mojo) The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York charged Mr. Block in September 2016 with conspiracy, securities fraud and other charges stemming from falsified accounting at the REIT, known by its former ticker symbol ARCP. The federal government claimed Mr. Block inflated an important REIT accounting metric — adjusted funds from operation, or AFFO — in the company's financial statements for the second quarter of 2014. Mr. Block also consented on Wednesday to an order suspending him from appearing or practicing before the SEC as an accountant.