A Fort Lauderdale, Florida, man previously registered as an investment advisor has been accused of bilking international investors — mostly Venezuelan nationals — of more than $94 million. He now faces a jury trial starting Aug. 25 on federal wire fraud and money laundering charges.
Andrew Hamilton Jacobus, 64, who was arrested by federal authorities on July 17, falsely portrayed himself as an experienced advisor handling legitimate portfolios and offering lucrative returns. However, he actually misappropriated funds for his own use and to make payments to earlier investors, the U.S. attorney's office for Florida's southern district and an Internal Revenue Service special agent announced earlier this month, citing a federal indictment.
By making materially false statements and concealing material facts to investors, Jacobus "falsely and fraudulently induced investors to invest approximately $94 million in investment accounts controlled by him from in or around 2004 through in and around September 2024," prosecutors allege in the indictment.
Clients resided in Florida, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, Spain and Aruba, according to the document.
Jacobus falsely told investors that he would use their funds to purchase securities to earn them returns as high as 12% to 15% annually, authorities allege.
"My client looks forward to addressing the evidence in court," Jacobus' defense attorney, Coral Gables lawyer Bruce Lehr, told ThinkAdvisor in an email Friday.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint against Jacobus in May, accusing him and two firms that he controlled of misusing about $17 million from 40 advisory clients, mostly Venezuelan nationals —including Catholic clergy and dioceses in Venezuela and elderly individuals.
Specifically, the SEC contends that Jacobus and his firms misappropriated about $3.2 million from Catholic clergy in Venezuela and "various" dioceses.
Jacobus, without admitting or denying allegations in the SEC civil complaint, recently consented to injunctive restrictions barring him from involvement in securities industry activity and to an eventual court order for civil penalties and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, court records show.
Prosecutors in the criminal case allege that Jacobus falsified documentation and siphoned client funds to luxury personal expenditures and outside business ventures, according to a July 18 press release.
Jacobus, taken into custody in Fort Lauderdale, was released Thursday on a $250,000 10% bond, meaning that $25,000 was posted, with conditions.
He faces up to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud and money laundering count, in addition to restitution and assets forfeiture. Court records show that Jacobus is charged with seven counts of wire fraud and 10 counts of money laundering.
The SEC alleged in its civil complaint that from May 2015 through April 2024, Jacobus, through two firms he controlled, abused his clients' trust by raising nearly $40 million from those who believed that they were investing in a high-yield fund and IPO stocks.
The SEC alleged that Jacobus misled clients about their investments' legitimacy and returns, access to their funds, and about their holdings and balances.
Jacobus, through the firms, allegedly used over $17.3 million of client funds to make payments to unrelated entities and people and to pay for his mortgage, property taxes real estate purchases, travel and luxury vehicles, and made about $7.8 million in Ponzi-like payments to some clients, the SEC said.
In 2020, the SEC censured Jacobus, fined him $70,000 and issued a cease-and-desist order over various alleged violations, including that he and one of his firms, contrary to representations in the private placement memorandum for a fund they managed, charged the fund about $51,000 in performance fees, SEC records show.
Several investors have filed civil lawsuits against Jacobus, the Miami Herald reported after his arrest last week.
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