Ronald Diaz, 41, a former Morgan Stanley financial advisor, was sentenced last week to 22 months in prison for defrauding an elderly client, whose money he used for his own personal expenses, including casino gambling, remodeling his family's pool, a down payment on a Range Rover and mortgage and credit card payments, the Justice Department announced.
Diaz, sentenced by a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in Tucson, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in July, according to a press release from the U.S. attorney's office in Arizona.
While working as a financial advisor, Diaz falsely represented an investment opportunity in an “annuity” that “guaranteed” a 10% return, prosecutors said. Between November 2020 and July 2022, Diaz directed the victim to transfer $970,000 to his own family members, they said.
Diaz then instructed his family to distribute most of the client's funds back to him and used large portions of the victim’s money for his own personal expenses. Diaz made some purported interest payments to entice the victim to provide additional money, prosecutors said.
None of the victim’s money was used toward any legitimate investment, according to the government. During the investigation, conducted by the FBI, the victim passed away.
As part of his sentence, Diaz was ordered to pay the victim’s next of kin $867,510.37 for the loss.
Image: Shutterstock
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.