Former Thrivent broker barred from securities business for defrauding woman he met at church: Finra

Miguel Angel Hernandez has been barred from the brokerage industry after allegedly lying to obtain $25,000 in cash from an elderly woman he met at church, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. While a registered broker at Thrivent Investment Management Inc., Mr. Hernandez told the customer that he needed the funds to cover expenses tied to his tax business, according to a settlement notice accepted Tuesday by Finra's Department of Enforcement. He did not have a tax business and used her money for his personal expenses, the brokerage industry's self-regulatory organization charged. Mr. Hernandez promised the elderly woman a 2% stake in his purported tax business after the fifth year of its existence, plus quarterly payments of $1,081.56 for at least three years and for as many as 10, the notice shows. He obtained the $25,000 in 2010 and repaid the woman in full in June 2015 after his misconduct was discovered. Mr. Hernandez was registered with Thrivent from May 2004 until he was discharged in May 2015, according to Finra's BrokerCheck . He neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the notice accepted by Finra.