Broker Swindles Merrill Lynch

From the firm that brought you Harold Ford Jr.: Stockbroker Steven Mandala, 29, has been accused of swindling Merrill Lynch out of $780,000. Allegedly, Mandala got hired at Merrill by falsely claiming that he previously was a partner at Maxim Group, where he said he managed $300 million in client assets and earned $765,000 per year. In fact, he earned just $100,000 per year. Mandala allegedly produced the fake pay stubs to prove his claim, and on this basis, Merrill offered him a $780,000 loan on his first day of work as an incentive. According to the indictment charges, Mandala blew $245,580 on a red 2006 Ferrari bought in the name of his father, showed up for work infrequently, and brought on a mere $20,000 worth of clients.