Name Mixup No Joke to Financial Adviser

Alan E. Weston’s phone has been ringing ever since a man with the same first and last names was charged with bank fraud, money-laundering and other crimes.

Prosecutors said Tuesday that their man, Alan Weston, 52, was a self-employed financial consultant. For Alan E. Weston, 55, a financial adviser with offices in West Los Angeles, the coincidence was much too close for comfort.

He even got a call from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The examiner who had audited his firm’s books last year wanted to know if he was the other Weston.

“I said, ‘If I was, I wouldn’t be on the other end of the line--I’d be in jail,’ ” Alan E. Weston said Thursday.

The other Weston has been in federal custody since Jan. 11. He was indicted Tuesday along with a Los Angeles rabbi and a Lomita woman on charges including bank fraud, conspiracy and possession of a stolen and forged security.

“I’ve had about a dozen calls since yesterday,” said Alan E. Weston, from clients from as far away as Arizona and Northern California.

“I’ve spent considerable time and effort building up a reputation for integrity, honesty and confidence,” Weston said. “If people get worried about someone’s integrity, your business can disappear overnight.”

He said his firm, Weston Capital Management Inc., looks after more than $100 million in investments for individuals and corporations. The firm was established in 1976.

Weston ran unsuccessfully for the Santa Monica City Council last November, basing his campaign largely on the city’s financial situation.

“Most of the incumbents said the city was financially sound, and now the City Council is faced with a huge $5-million deficit and they don’t know where they’re going to get the money to balance it,” he said.