A former Northwestern Mutual advisor, John Jay Kersey, was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday for stealing $8.6 million from friends and relatives over the course of a 20-year Ponzi scheme.
Judge Susan J. Dlott of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio sentenced Kersey and ordered him to pay $7.6 million in restitution.
Kersey, 65, of Maineville, Ohio, pleaded guilty in June 2025 to wire fraud.
He was barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on Nov. 10, 2023. According to court documents, Kersey was a trusted financial advisor to friends and relatives, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
For about two decades, from 2003 through 2023, while working as an advisor at Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, "Kersey convinced his clients to move their existing investments from his company to purportedly invest in other funds," DOJ said.
"Kersey then stole the funds and used the money to pay down credit card bills, pay insurance premiums and to provide a down payment on real estate," DOJ said.
He also used the money to pay other clients, when required, to maintain his investment scheme.
Kersey told his clients that their investments were performing well, and "provided false documents that included fictitious financial summaries and bank account numbers," DOJ said. He also "fabricated charts and graphs to show his victims."
Kersey deceived his victims during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives, DOJ added.
"For example, after a victim's spouse passed away, Kersey assured the victim that he would take care of her finances — when in reality, he had stolen the victim's funds and used them for his own benefit," according to DOJ.
Kersey's BrokerCheck profile shows that he has been with 10 firms since 1986 and has had 17 customer complaints.
A Northwestern Mutual spokesperson said Wednesday in a statement: "The trust that our clients place in Northwestern Mutual is paramount, and we've taken this matter very seriously. We proactively reimbursed and provided support to all affected Northwestern Mutual clients to make them whole. No client has experienced any financial loss as a result of this situation."
© 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.