Brian Block, a former chief financial officer of American Realty Capital Properties Inc., has been found guilty of securities fraud after an 18-day trial. Prosecutors said that Block inflated the real estate investment firm’s results.
A New York federal jury found Mr. Block guilty of all six counts for which he was tried: conspiracy to commit securities fraud and other offenses, securities fraud, and two each for making false filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission and submitting false certifications to the SEC.
The charges of securities fraud, false filings, and false certification each carry a maximum prison term of 20 years. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum term of five years.
Last year, the ARCP CFO Brian Block pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and securities fraud, stemming from the accounting of adjusted funds from operation (AFFO) at the REIT.
American Realty Capital Properties REIT
American Realty Capital Properties Inc. is a giant REIT once controlled by Nicholas Schorsch, the undisputed leader of the nontraded REIT business. Once the investigation was underway, Schorsch resigned from the boards of American Realty and other companies he had sponsored when the SEC and Justice Department launched investigations against the company in 2014.
The company has since changed its name to Vereit Inc. and is under new management.
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