BOSTON - A former investment advisor was arrested today and charged with deceiving and manipulating his former clients concerning the management of their retirement savings as well as lying to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Richard G. Cody, 43, of Jacksonville, Fla., was arrested today in Florida on an indictment out of the U.S. District Court in Boston charging him with one count of violating the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 and two counts of making a false declaration in a court proceeding. Cody is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Oct. 12, 2017.
The indictment alleges that from May 2005 to August 2016, Cody acted as an investment advisor and managed the retirement savings of three victims, including two in Massachusetts. Cody falsely assured the victims that their retirement savings were secure, when in fact he knew they were not. Contrary to his fraudulent assurances, by 2014 the total value of their retirement savings had substantially diminished, and the retirement savings of two victims were entirely gone. In order to conceal these losses, Cody allegedly provided the victims with fraudulent account statements and tax documents. In addition, Cody failed to inform his victims that regulators had suspended him in 2013 from acting as investment advisor.
According to the indictment, Cody lied to the SEC during a March 2017 sworn deposition in connection with a civil enforcement action the SEC had filed against him in December 2016. Cody allegedly made false declarations regarding fraudulent documents that he denied giving to two victims of the scheme.
The charges of violating the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 and making a false declaration in a court proceeding each provide for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, two years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William Weinreb and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The U.S. Attorney’s Office gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil J. Gallagher Jr. of Weinreb’s Economic Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
