Atlanta Broker IFS Files Bankruptcy After Unauthorized Trades

IFS Securities, an Atlanta-based broker dealer that suffered large losses after an employee shorted U.S. Treasury bonds with company funds, filed for bankruptcy on April 24.

Keith Wakefield, the firm’s head of fixed income, was fired in August after IFS discovered the unauthorized speculative trades. IFS was unable to find additional capital to shore up its finances or find a buyer and customers fled, according to bankruptcy filings.

Related: Atlanta Broker Alerts FBI Over Loss on ‘Unauthorized’ Trades

IFS has about $25.3 million in unsecured debt, mostly owed to trading counter-parties that weren’t paid after IFS failed to ...