Former Ameriprise Advisor Sentenced to 5 Years for Fake REIT Scheme
An Ohio financial advisor was sentenced to 60 months in prison for an investment fraud scheme that bilked his clients out of more than $1.1 million.
According to court documents, between 2000 and 2015, Mark Speakman was an advisor at Ameriprise Financial who persuaded his clients to remove their funds from their Ameriprise accounts and invest them in Centrax, a real estate investment trust that did not exist. He took $870,000 from seven victims for the real estate scheme and used the money to pay his own expenses.
For example, Speakman persuaded one victim to move $125,000 out of her Ameriprise account and invest in Centrax. She later developed terminal cancer and told Speakman she intended to use her Centrax investment to pay off the mortgage on her home.
Speakman convinced the victim not to liquidate her investment and attempted to convince the victim’s family to do the same following her death. When he could no longer postpone their wishes to liquidate, he avoided communication with the family altogether.
In addition, Speakman filed a false federal income tax return with the IRS for the 2014 income tax year on which he omitted $275,000 in income generated by his illegal conduct. The total tax loss to the IRS for 2002 through 2014 was approximately $300,000.
“When you knowingly mix deceit and trickery into the financial well-being of individuals, you create a recipe for devastation that could last a lifetime,” said Frank Turner II, acting special agent in charge, criminal investigation, Cincinnati Field Office. “The sentencing demonstrates how the IRS, U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Grove City Police Department banded together to help put an end to the criminal behavior of Mr. Speakman who preyed on investors for his own personal financial gain.”
Speakman pleaded guilty in December 2016 to one count each of wire fraud, money laundering and filing a false federal income tax return with the IRS. As part of his plea, he agreed to pay nearly $1.2 million in restitution to the victims of his investment fraud scheme and approximately $300,000 in restitution to the IRS.
