A 24-year-old man who pretended to be an investment advisor has pleaded guilty to fraud after stealing at least $657,000 from 64 or more investors, including people he met at church, prosecutors said.
Hunter Haithcock, also known as Hunter Elliott, of Matthews, North Carolina, formerly of Aberdeen, Maryland, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of investment advisor fraud in connection to the theft, Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. attorney for Maryland, announced Tuesday.
Haithcock faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud offense and five years for the investment adviser fraud offense when sentenced in February.
Haithcock stole the funds from September 2019 through October 2022, fraudulently telling victims that he was an advisor working for "Company #1," a nationally recognized registered broker-dealer, and with an RIA, the "victim investment advisor," his plea agreement states. Haithcock was never employed with Company #1 or any other broker-dealer, never had a license to trade securities and doesn't know the "victim investment advisor," Hayes' office said.
Haithcock told investors that he would guarantee their principal and provide significant returns, but rather than investing clients’ funds, he used the money for credit card bills, meals, entertainment, car payments, travel and cryptocurrency trading for his own benefit, prosecutors said.
Misrepresenting himself as Hunter Elliott, a licensed securities broker, Haithcock told victims that he could provide them with 100% to 200% or larger returns, routinely providing investors with fabricated reports that purported to show their portfolio gains, authorities said.
Haithcock met his victims in different ways, including through a local church and word-of-mouth referrals, according to the plea agreement.
Haithcock also promised investors that their principal was protected from loss; some invested tens of thousands of dollars while others invested $10,000 or less, prosecutors said. When investors eventually asked for their money, Haithcock fabricated reasons why he couldn't and stopped returning their messages, but did use a small portion of client funds to repay a few investors, they said.
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