ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Allegedly Transferred $950,000 Of Client Money To Himself
Forged Compliance Officer’s Signature
Transfers Occurred Over Four-Year Period
Senior investors are at risk of being sold unsuitable annuities or investments or churning or unauthorized trades in their brokerage accounts because dishonest advisors may prey on their lack of financial sophistication, cognitive decline, or inability to monitor their accounts. Seniors are also at risk of theft of funds from outright transfers of funds out of their account or other forms of diverting their money, as a recent case discussed below illustrates. Whatever the form of financial abuse, Evans Law Firm, Inc. represents victims and their families here in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout California against all those responsible for any financial elder abuse or fraud. We pursue all remedies available to the injured senior or his or her family including double damages and payment of attorneys’ fees and costs for having to bring suit to get their money back. Cal. Probate Code § 859 (double damages); Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15657.5 (mandatory attorneys’ fees and expenses in financial elder abuse cases). If you or a loved one is a victim of financial elder abuse in the San Francisco Bay Area or elsewhere in California, call our lawyers today at (415)441-8669. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Adviser Sentenced For Stealing From Elderly Clients
A U.S. District Court Judge recently sentenced an investment advisor to four years and four months in prison for his alleged theft of over $950,000 from three elderly clients.[1] The defendant was also ordered to pay restitution of $968,000 to his three victims, all of whom were seniors that used his investment advisory services. According to the complaint in the case, investment advisor fraudulently obtained more than $950,000 from the accounts of three of his elderly customers between August 2017 and May 2021. According to a written plea agreement, the advisor told the customers that he needed to move the money to diversify their assets, when, in fact, he used the money for his own benefit and without the customers’ knowledge or consent. Authorities also alleged that he forged the signature of his company’s chief compliance officer to make it look like the transfers were approved. According to the government, the advisor spent his client’s money on vacations, luxury car leases, expensive dinners, and private school tuition for his children.
Protecting Loved Ones From Financial Elder Abuse
In the reported case, the advisor fraudulently transferred money out of his elderly customers’ accounts for over four years. Had someone been more closely monitoring the victims’ accounts, perhaps the fraud could have been detected sooner. If you are a family member of an older loved one the best way to protect them from the kind of fraud described in the reported case is to stay involved in their lives and financial affairs and constantly monitor all bank and investment accounts. Trace where any annuity, Social Security or pension benefits are being paid and make sure they are going to your loved one’s account and not being diverted elsewhere. Keep hard copies of all bank records. You may need them as banks only keep records for seven years. Closely examine all bills that are being paid directly from any account to make sure they are your loved one’s bills and not the bills of someone else who has given the account information to their own creditors for bill payments. Accompany any older loved one to any business meetings so that they are not sold an unsuitable investment or insurance product or coaxed into signing blank forms or checks under the pressure of a broker or agent.
Contact Us
Ingrid M. Evans represents victims of financial elder abuse by accountants, bookkeepers, financial advisors, insurance agents, brokers, retirement planners, investment promoters, caregivers, trustees, or other person in the San Francisco Bay Area or elsewhere in California contact at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. is not involved in the case in any way.
