Former Wisconsin Broker, James Kolf, Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Money Laundering

JAMES PAUL KOLF CRD#: 1015682,
a former broker from Wisconsin, has been barred by FINRA from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public.  Kolf had 34 years of experience in the securities industry and had been listed with 5 firms.
The 64 year-old broker from Sauk City, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering on September 26, 2017 in US District Court.  James Kolf allegedly promised clients a 6% return on the money he had obtained from his clients from 2011 to 2016, totally nearly $1 million. Kolf was supposed to have invested the money for his clients but instead used the money for his own personal expenses. James Kolf now faces a lengthy federal prison sentence.
James Kolf allegedly admitted that he made up the “SFN Financial Network” and solicited clients for investments in SFN. Kolf said he would invest in energy companies, returning 6% on the investment. Between 2011 and 2016, it was reported, Kolf made 19 deposits into the SFN account totaling $905,077. Kolf admitted he had never invested the money, but instead used the investors’ money for his own personal expenses, including the purchase of a house.
James Kolf will be sentenced on Dec. 12, 2017. The charges which he plead guilty to can carry combined sentences of 30 years in prison.  An indictment which was issued in March charged James Kolf with 16 counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering. Kolf worked as a broker and investment advisor in Middleton and Madison, Wisconsin the majority of his career.  He allegedly started to solicit clients to invest in SFN Financial Network in 2011. Kolf agreed to pay back $905,077 under a plea agreement.
The indictment states that James Kolf allegedly gave fictitious account statements to the investors which showed profits and portfolio balances, and made payments to some investors, telling them that the payments were interest earned by their accounts, when no investments were ever actually made in a Ponzi-like scheme.
According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, the most recent firms James Kolf worked were:
05/25/2016 - 08/31/2016  NYLIFE SECURITIES LLC - MADISON, WI
01/02/2015 - 05/10/2016  METLIFE SECURITIES INC - MIDDLETON, WI
09/28/2009 - 01/02/2015  NEW ENGLAND SECURITIES - MIDDLETON, WI
If you were a client of former Madison, Wisconsin, NYLife Securities broker, James Kolf and you suffered losses due to his actions or recommendations in his Ponzi-like scheme, SFN Financial Network, call Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses through a FINRA arbitration at:  888-760-6552.
Soreide Law Group represents our clients nationwide before FINRA.