Investor Lawyers Blog
James T. Booth, a former LPL Financial broker, has been arrested and charged by U.S. authorities with securities and wire fraud in connection with his alleged operation of a Ponzi scheme. The scheme allegedly defrauded more than three dozen retail investors, including senior citizens saving for retirement, of nearly $4 million in assets.
According to the indictment, accessible here u.s._v._james_booth_indictment, Booth, 74, solicited money from over 40 clients of his wealth management business known as Booth Financial and falsely promised to invest their money in securities offered outside of their ordinary advisory and brokerage accounts. The indictment alleges that, rather than investing the funds as represented, Booth instead misappropriated nearly $5 million to pay his own personal and business expenses. According to the indictment, from 2013 through 2019, Booth purportedly directed some of his clients to write checks or wire money to an entity named “Insurance Trends, Inc.” Booth then allegedly used the funds to pay personal and business expenses.
Under the federal indictment, Booth, of Norwalk, Connecticut, is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of investment adviser fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, according to the Department of Justice press announcement.