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May 25, 2022 at 02:14 PM
What You Need to Know
- A former Raymond James Financial and Alliance Global Partners broker pleaded guilty on Monday to one count each of bank and wire fraud for defrauding his clients.
- The barred broker's probation was recently revoked after he took an unauthorized Caribbean trip.
- Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 25 and he faces up to 50 years in prison, even with the plea deal.
The former Raymond James Financial and Alliance Global Partners broker whose probation was recently revoked after he violated its terms by allegedly taking an unauthorized trip to the Caribbean pleaded guilty on Monday to one count each of bank and wire fraud for defrauding his clients, according to court documents.
Michael Francis Shillin, 32, faces up to 50 years of prison as part of a plea agreement that was reached between him and the Justice Department last month in which he agreed to plead guilty to just one count of wire fraud for which he would serve up to 20 years in prison and one count of bank fraud for which he would serve up to 30 years in prison.
Shillin’s plea was provided during a hearing in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on Monday.
A presentence report is due July 21, with objections scheduled for Aug. 4 and sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 25 at 9 a.m.
Prior to the plea deal, Shillin faced much longer sentences if convicted of all 10 of the bank and wire fraud charges against him. He faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each wire fraud charge and a maximum penalty of 30 years on the bank fraud charge, according to the Justice Department.
As part of the plea agreement, he also agreed to five years of supervised release and to pay a $1.25 million fine and $200 special assessment.
Shillin, owner of financial advisory firm Shillin Wealth Management, had been charged by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission with defrauding his clients.
The Oct. 27, 2021 indictment against Shillin by the Justice Department alleged that he engaged in a scheme to defraud clients by making misrepresentations to them.
Caribbean Trip
Arguments were heard last month in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin after the probation office petitioned for revocation of Shillin’s pretrial release after it was learned he traveled to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Shillin took the trip despite his request to travel there having been denied by the court and Justice Department before he went.
The probation office’s request for Shillin to be detained was granted by the court and he was detained pending his trial and sentencing, according to court documents.
