Crime & Safety

Bellevue Man Charged with Wire Fraud

Richard A. Finger allegedly defrauded 10 clients of millions, sending phony statements from his Kirkland office to hide big losses, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Richard A. Finger, a Bellevue man who owned a stock brokerage in Kirkland and allegedly defrauded more than 10 clients of millions of dollars, was charged Thursday in U.S. District Court with wire fraud.

Finger, 32, who operated Black Diamond Capital Management, LLC and Black Diamond Securities, LLC, was advised of the criminal charges in an appearance in Seattle before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler, according to a press release from the U.S. District Attorney’s office of Western Washington.

Finger also faces civil charges filed Thursday by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, which also is seeking an order from the federal court in Seattle to freeze his assets.

The SEC chares alleges that Finger lost millions of dollars for customers in a matter of months through risky, undisclosed options trading and excessive, concealed commissions. They claim he opened the firm in February and began managing nearly $5 million in assets, mainly for friends and family members.

According to the criminal complaint filed Thursaday, some of the clients invested with Finger while he worked for a Seattle brokerage firm, including one client who placed almost $700,000 with him for investment.

From the fall of 2009 through 2010, Finger allegedly assured the client the investment was growing while in fact it was sustaining serious losses. When he moved to his own firm in Kirkland, Finger showed the client fake statements that showed it was worth $1.2 million when it was actually worth only $5,500, according to the complaint.

He also allegedly took significant commissions from the 10 accounts and used them for his own benefit.

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Another client invested $1 million and was shown statements by email, until August of this year, when Finger admitted it had lost more than $800,000.

The complaint also alleges Finger transferred thousands to his personal checking account to pay for credit card bills, food and entertainment and business expenses, claiming the money as commissions.

He faces up to 20 years in prison on the charge. He has not been in custody.

“He was released on his own recognizance,” said Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office.

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His next court appearance is set for Sept. 22. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Kirkland Police Department, as well as agents out of the SEC's San Francisco office.


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