What You Need to Know
- An ex-LPL broker pleaded guilty last year to three counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, then canceled the plea deal.
- After the initial charges were filed, he sent false information to at least one victim and created fake documents, according to the Justice Department.
A former LPL Financial broker has pleaded guilty for a second time to charges related to a scheme in which he allegedly stole more than $2.8 million from six clients — only this time, he has also pleaded guilty to witness tampering.
James K. Couture, 42, of Sutton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in 2021 to three counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Justice Department and court documents in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
As part of a plea agreement, he was to be incarcerated for a total of not less than 66 months and not more than 91 months.
However, Couture decided about one month later to cancel a scheduled hearing and scrap the deal, according to a court filing on July 6, 2021.
Couture was initially charged in connection with the scheme in June 2021. However, after those initial charges were filed, he “engaged in witness tampering by creating fake documents purported to be for his clients’ accounts and providing false information to at least one victim in the case for approximately six months,” the Justice Department said Thursday.
As a result, Couture was “subsequently charged with witness tampering in connection with his efforts to deceive” that victim on Jan. 14, 2022, according to the Justice Department. Consequently, he now faces a longer prison sentence.
On Thursday, Couture pleaded guilty to one count of witness tampering, four counts of wire fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of investment advisor fraud.
The charge of witness tampering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, according to the Justice Department.
Each charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, the Justice Department noted.
The charge of investment advisor fraud provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. And the charges of aggravated identity theft each provide for a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Jan. 11, 2023, at 3 p.m. in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, according to a court document.
8 Disclosures in Over 18 Years
Couture was a broker for LPL from 2009 to 2020, according to his report on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s BrokerCheck website.
He first became a registered broker in 2001, as a rep for Morgan Stanley, where he stayed for just one year. He then became a rep for New England Securities and Lincoln Financial Securities, each for three years, before joining LPL.
Couture also founded his own firm, The Private Wealth Management Group, in 2010, with offices in Springfield and Worcester, Massachusetts, to provide investment advisory services and sell insurance products.