LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa.– A former financial adviser from Lancaster County is facing charges after allegedly stealing $290,000 from clients.
Jason Weigand, 47, of Denver, Pa, allegedly schemed to defraud clients of Nations First Financial Group and First Financial Princeton LLC of more than $290,000.
Weigand faces three counts of bank fraud, four counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft among other related charges, according to United States Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
If convicted, Weigand could serve more than 20 years in prison, have to pay fines, and serve up to three years of supervised release.
The indictment said that Weigand was a registered investment adviser in Pennsylvania between 2009 and 2014 and in New Jersey between 2011 and 2014.
During this time period, the indictment alleges that Weigand used the funds of his clients for personal, business and other purposes that were unrelated to the investment interests of those clients.
According to indictment, Weigand met a client when he became the homeowners’ insurance agent for her and her husband.
In April of 2005, Weigand attended the client’s husband’s funeral, and suggested that he become her investment adviser.
The client agreed, and directed Weigand to keep money safe for her retirement, and to not invest it in any high risk assets.
However, Weigan used $60,000 of that client’s money to fund accounts in the name of another client before withdrawing money for his own personal and business purposes.
Weigand then later forged documents in that client’s name at a brokerage and induced the client to fund that account with $200,000.
It was found that that client did not know that that account had check writing privileges, and Weigand used to write checks of at least $98,000 for his own benefit.
At some point, the client became suspicious of Weigand’s management of her funds, and in an effort to cover up his own misconduct, the indictment alleges that Weigand hacked his client’s emails before using forged documents to open another account in that client’s name at another brokerage. Weigand allegedly funded that account with stolen money from other clients and impersonated a client in telephone calls and emails with that brokerage.
