News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. June 21, 2013: A senior vice president who managed the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in 11 states has had to resign after information surfaced of a felony theft and charitable bingo fraud indictment in 1993.
Mitchell C. Atkins, 42, quit after spending 20 years with FINRA after the information surfaced of his criminal past. A Wisconsin broker who was the target of enforcement actions overseen by Atkins busted the FINRA executive to agency officials.
Nancy Condon, a Finra spokeswoman, confirmed that Atkins, 42, resigned but declined to answer other questions, including whether the agency knew about his indictment before he was hired in 1994.
Atkins and his father, Wilbur D. Atkins Jr., were indicted and charged with felony theft and charitable bingo fraud in March 1993 for misusing the proceeds of bingo games, according to a copy of the indictment obtained from the Supreme Court of Louisiana. Atkins’ father was stripped of his law license over his role in the matter, according to the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board.
An investigation by the Louisiana State Police found a health- care corporation formed by Atkins’ father reaped more than $58,000 in bingo proceeds in 1991 and 1992, and that “no money was received by any charitable organization,” according to the disciplinary board’s summary of the probe. The company had more than $1 million in debt at the time and hadn’t done any business since 1988, the board’s record states.
