Baltimore “financial advisor” pleads guilty in $890k mail fraud scheme

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Casey Charles pleaded guilty on February 8^th to a mail fraud scheme dating back to late 2007. The Baltimore man allegedly has defrauded 22 different people over the age of 55 out of their retirement savings that totaled over $890,000. According to prosecutors, Charles established Infinite Equity Strategies LLC in 2007 and then falsely claimed to be a financial specialist who was able to invest clients’ funds into products that promised “high rewards without the high risks”. He used direct mail and ads in newspapers and on TV, to target retired clients. He specifically sought out married individuals who were between the ages of 55 and 80, owned their home, and had annual incomes over $25,000.

Charles used two methods to swindle his customers:

In one strategy, he convinced clients to liquidate their current investments and turn the funds over to him. Charles claimed he would then place funds into better investment accounts. He would then place some of these funds into risky investments, while the remaining balances were used for his own personal and business expenses. He then created fake letters and account statements to make clients believe their money was safely invested.

Under the second strategy Charles advised clients to open individual retirement accounts at a reputable trust company so they could have more control of their money. Charles then created and sent forged documents to the trust companies directing them to transfer the funds into financial accounts he controlled. Most of the money then was used to finance Charles’ personal and business expenses, prosecutors said. He was able to further conceal his scheme by using new client funds to make “lulling payments” to existing clients who were seeking to liquidate investments they thought Charles had set up for them.

Casey Charles, 33, will be sentenced on May 21^st and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a one million dollar fine.