A barred financial advisor in Wisconsin has been sentenced to three years and four months in prison for taking over $3 million from more than a dozen victims, including friends and family members, prosecutors announced. He also was ordered to pay over $3 million in restitution and serve three years in supervised release.
Robert C. Starnes, who operated Robert C. Starnes Financial Services in Wauwatosa and was sentenced earlier this month, persuaded friends, friends of friends and family members over years to invest their retirement savings with him, prosecutors said, citing court records.
He promised to increase the value of their retirement savings through his investment strategies and gave victims fake statements indicating that their money was growing. In reality, prosecutors said, Starnes accepted checks from his victims and deposited them in his personal bank account to use for his own expenses.
At the sentencing hearing, the judge noted that Starnes hadn't invested any funds for the victims, prosecutors said.
“The sentence in this case takes into account both the significant financial losses caused by the defendant’s scheme and the fact that he abused the trust of his victims,” said Richard G. Frohling, acting U.S. attorney for Wisconsin's eastern district.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority barred Starnes in 2023 after he consented to findings, without admitting or denying them,
that he refused to appear for on-the-record testimony arising from a customer complaint, according to his BrokerCheck record.
SA Stone Wealth Management discharged him that year after allegations that he had violated the firm's policy related to accepting client funds, BrokerCheck shows.
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