A broker from Essex County will serve three years in prison for convincing an elderly couple to $270,000 into an investment program that did not exist and using the money for himself, authorities said Friday.

Michael Alan Siegel, 62, of Livingston, befriended the couple in 2013 while he worked for a brokerage firm, convincing them to transfer $2 million from their investment accounts to his employer, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said in a statement.

When Siegel moved to another brokerage firm the following year, the couple again transferred their investments so Siegel could manage them, Grewal said.

In January 2014, Siegel encouraged the couple to invest in what he called an “options” program, which he characterized as a safe institutional trading program for preferred customers, Grewal said.

“He further convinced the couple that they needed to make their checks for investments in the program payable to him,” Grewal said.

The couple gave Siegel 49 checks totaling $270,283 to invest in the program, Grewal said.

But the options program didn’t exist. “In fact, the options program was entirely fictitious and Siegel used those monies for his personal benefit,” Grewal said.

Siegel pleaded guilty June 24 to second-degree theft by deception. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $270,283 to the woman whose funds he stole. Her husband has since died, Grewal said.

“This is an especially egregious case of investment fraud because of the way that Siegel exploited his friendship with the elderly victims to deceive them,” said Veronica Allende, director of the state’s Division of Criminal Justice. “We will continue to work with the (New Jersey) Bureau of Securities to protect investors and ensure that dishonest brokers like Siegel face justice.”

Grewal said after the woman’s husband died in 2015, she and her daughter – who also invested through Siegel – began questioning the way he managed their investments. Their complaints led to an investigation by the Bureau of Securities.

The Bureau of Securities on Feb. 1, 2018, revoked Siegel’s registration as a broker-dealer agent in New Jersey and levied a fine of $100,000 against him. The bureau then referred the case to the Division of Criminal Justice, Grewal said.

“It is especially disturbing when unscrupulous financial professionals take advantage of unsophisticated or elderly clients, as this defendant did,” said Christopher W. Gerold, chief of the Bureau of Securities.

Investors who believe they have been defrauded are urged to contact the Division of Criminal Justice at 866-847-7425 or the Bureau of Securities at 866-446-8378. Callers outside New Jersey can contact the Bureau of Securities at 973-504-3600.

The Bureau of Securities asks people to call them before they invest to make sure the securities offered are properly registered.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.