A Wisconsin grand jury has indicted barred dealer Robert C. Starnes on two counts of wire fraud regarding his alleged scheme to make use of shopper investments for private use.

The 2 counts of wire fraud totaled $72,000, in line with the indictment earlier this month, returned within the U.S. District Court docket for the Jap District of Wisconsin. Every rely carries a most sentence of 20 years in jail and three years of supervised launch, a press release from the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace mentioned.

From November 2019 via Could 2023, Starnes, proprietor of Robert C. Starnes Monetary Companies in Wauwatosa, Wis., allegedly persuaded shoppers to offer him property to speculate on their behalf however as an alternative deposited the cash into a private checking account at Wells Fargo Financial institution, the indictment mentioned.

Starnes would then allegedly switch the cash to a different private account at BMO Harris Financial institution and from there use the property for private bills, together with funds on his personal bank cards.

To maintain his shoppers in the dead of night about his scheme, Starnes fabricated statements to indicate that the sufferer’s investments had generated returns, the indictment mentioned, and he included logos of reliable funding corporations like Barclays. If a shopper requested a withdrawal from their “account,” Starnes would transmit the funds by way of Automated Clearing Home wire transfers from his private account.

On the identical time that Starnes operated the agency in his personal title, he additionally was a registered consultant with SA Stone Wealth Administration, in line with the Monetary Business Regulatory Authority.

In a Finra letter of acceptance, waiver and consent dated July 2023, Starnes agreed to a everlasting bar from the business after SA Stone Wealth terminated him for violating the agency’s coverage on the acceptance of shopper funds and he then refused to look for testimony when Finra investigated.

Based on BrokerCheck, Starnes began his profession in 1986 at Equable Securities, then held positions at 5 different companies earlier than becoming a member of SA Stone Wealth in Wauwatosa in 2019.

Starnes had 4 disclosures on his document. On Could 2, 2023, a buyer complained that Starnes mentioned he would repay $153,689 after he had accepted and deposited a examine in that quantity to his private account. On Could 16, he was terminated from SA Stone Wealth for that grievance.

The bar by Finra was logged on July 27, 2023. And on Aug. 31 one other buyer alleged in a grievance that she had invested $35,000 with Starnes in 2021 and 2022, however when she requested that the investments be liquidated and the cash returned to her, they weren’t. When she known as the businesses listed on her statements, she was informed they didn’t have an account for her, BrokerCheck mentioned.