Making A Bad Investment Worse

It's hard enough to make an equipment leasing investment fund successful as designed.  Throw in some alleged misuse of investor money and it's much tougher.  InvestmentNews' Bruce Kelly reports on Finra's charge that Commonwealth Capital Securities Corporation's CEO Kimberley Springsteen-Abbott misused $345,000 of investor funds over more than three years.  The money was used for home remodels, trips, meals and Christmas decorations:

The Finra complaint includes an exhibit of 27 pages of purchases from Ms. Springsteen-Abbott and other company executives. It includes: $63.43 for a meal at a Hooter's restaurant in 2009; $1,971.11 for a family vacation in 2010 that included Ms. Springsteen-Abbott's husband, daughter, ex-son-in-law and two grandchildren at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando, Fla.; and $12,414 for a board of directors meeting, also in 2010, at the Princeville St. Regis Hotel in Kauai, Hawaii.

Equipment leasing funds raise money, pay about 12% of the money in the form of upfront fees, and then invest the remaining 88% in depreciating assets.  This is a tough business model, but maybe that board meeting at the Princeville St. Regis Hotel in Hawaii inspired some special investment insight.