The nation’s presumed top independent broker-dealer will pay more than $4.8 million to settle anti-money laundering (AML) charges stemming from its alleged failure to verify identity documents and reconcile inconsistencies of a new customer who would scam a Puerto Rican city out of millions of dollars.

LPL Financial, headquartered in Fort Mill, S.C., will pay restitution of more than $4.1 million to Mayagüez (P.R.) Economic Development Inc. (MEDI), the government entity defrauded by investment adviser Eugenio Garcia Jimenez Jr., and a $750,000 civil penalty to settle charges levied by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding LPL’s lax AML policies and procedures.

Aaron Nicodemus is the Editor-in-Chief of Compliance Week. He previously worked as a reporter for Bloomberg Law and as business editor at the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Mass. Email: aaron.nicodemus@complianceweek.com LinkedIn:...