Former Edward Jones Broker Indicted for Defrauding Elderly Widow
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at ÍøÆسԹÏ
Federal prosecutors have indicted a former Edward Jones financial advisor on charges of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, and tax violations after he allegedly stole more than $920,000 from a 77-year-old widowed client.
ThinkAdvisor reports that the indictment accuses John S. Winslow of abusing his position of trust to drain the client’s life savings and inheritance, then using the funds for personal luxury purchases, including a waterfront home, new appliances, a car, jewelry, restaurant bills, and college tuition for a family member.
Winslow pleaded not guilty at his March 31 arraignment. The charges carry serious penalties, including, up to 20 years in prison for each fraud and money-laundering count, and up to three years for each false tax return.
According to prosecutors, Winslow deliberately circumvented Edward Jones’ internal surveillance by instructing the client to move funds from her brokerage account to her personal bank account in a series of transactions. He then transferred the funds into his own accounts, masking the source of the money through methods such as gold coin purchases. Prosecutors also allege that Winslow failed to report the stolen funds on his tax returns, resulting in an estimated $254,000 federal tax loss.
Authorities say Winslow exploited his client's trust during in-home visits, coaching her on what to say to bank representatives while on speakerphone. He falsely promised to repay her with higher interest than she was earning at her bank.
Edward Jones terminated Winslow’s employment in December 2021 after he admitted to receiving funds and gold coins from a client without proper disclosure. FINRA barred him in April 2022 for refusing to cooperate with its investigation. The customer dispute was later settled for over $972,000.
A 2022 Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) order from the Washington Department of Financial Institutions determined that Edward Jones failed to adequately supervise Winslow. According to ThinkAdvisor, the firm since has enhanced its compliance framework by deploying algorithms to detect questionable distributions from senior clients’ accounts and creating a specialized senior client protection team.
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