By Kenneth Corbin
A former advisor has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges in connection with an alleged scheme that bilked a trio of financial services companies out of nearly $3.4 million. Andrew Komarow entered his plea before a U.S. magistrate judge in Connecticut on Monday and was released on a $50,000 bond, according to the Justice Department.
Komarow, 36, of Avon, Conn., allegedly defrauded the financial services firms by exploiting the time lag in processing funds transfers through the Automated Clearing House, or ACH, system. He allegedly obtained lines of credit from the financial firms and initiated $8.9 million in transfers from his personal bank accounts to personal brokerage accounts, despite not having the funds to cover those transfers.
Komarow's lawyer, Robert Frost, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the charges or the case he plans to make at trial.
The alleged fraudulent funds transfers took place from October 2022 through February 2023, according to prosecutors. They say that Komarow executed a series of high-risk short-term options trades as soon as money was posted to his brokerage accounts "in an attempt to make immediate profits to cover his insufficient funds."
Before his legal problems, Komarow had emerged as a prominent voice on issues around neurodiversity in the wealth management industry. Komarow, who has autism, founded Planning Across the Spectrum, a now-defunct advisory firm focused on special-needs planning. He had also been active with the Financial Planning Association's efforts to cultivate a community for neurodivergent financial advisors.
Komarow entered the industry in 2010 as a broker with Pruco Securities. The next year he registered as an investment advisor with Prudential Financial Planning. He landed at LPL Financial in 2016 and joined Private Advisor Group, one of LPL's leading affiliated advisory practices.
By late 2022, his employers got wind of the allegations about overdrawing his bank accounts and trading on money that wasn't his. Private Advisor Group discharged Komarow in November 2022 and LPL let him go the following month, according to registration records.
Regulators weren't far behind. Komarow came under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Finra, the brokerage industry's self-regulatory authority, and state regulators in Connecticut.
Finra barred Komarow from the industry in June 2023 after he refused to cooperate with its investigation. He consented to that sanction without admitting or denying guilt.
Connecticut banned Komarow from the industry in January 2024, and the SEC did the same in February of that year.
In the criminal case, Komarow is facing 10 counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud. Each wire fraud charge and the securities fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
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March 04, 2026 15:14 ET (20:14 GMT)
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