Jonathan Williams, Wire Fraud, Maryland 2019

Baltimore, MD – In a brazen scheme that left over a dozen victims financially devastated, former Maryland insurance agent and financial planner Jonathan Williams, 48, of Boston, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a $2.8 million scam.

According to court documents, Williams worked as a New York Life insurance agent and was licensed to sell insurance in Maryland from February 2006 through March 2015. However, he was only authorized to sell New York Life related products and provide financial planning through a New York Life affiliate.

Williams admitted to deceiving New York Life and its customers, and fraudulently obtaining more than $2.8 million from 2009 to 2015. At Williams’ direction, customers paid money to entities with bank accounts that Williams controlled, including Advanced Retirement Solutions, Jonathan Williams Financial Planning, and Mid-Atlantic Financial.

Williams used the victim funds to make cash withdrawals, pay personal and business expenses, pay employees, take vacations, and other miscellaneous expenses. He also misrepresented to one small business that he was creating a defined benefit plan for the company’s employees by purchasing life insurance, long-term policies, and other investments.

However, in 2015, after more than five years, the business learned that Williams never created the defined benefit plan. In addition to the money that he took from the business, Williams caused New York Life and the small business to incur substantial costs to recreate the benefit plan and avoid arduous tax consequences stemming from Williams’ illegal conduct.

Further, Williams admitted to providing fake certificate of deposit account statements to another victim, but never invested the client’s money. That victim lost more than $350,000. A third victim, who had spent more than 30 years in the U.S. Navy, invested $100,000 with Williams, supposedly for Williams to establish investment accounts with Fidelity.

Williams faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for August 7, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for its work in the investigation.

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