Michael Bressman, 63, of Montville, N.J., is headed to federal prison after being caught running a six-year cherry-picking scheme that stole $793,680 from his own clients. The former broker at FCG Advisors and FCG Wealth Management in Chatham, N.J., abused his access to an omnibus allocation account to siphon off profitable trades for himself and family while dumping losing trades into customer accounts.
Bressman was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Katharine S. Hayden to two years behind bars, followed by 18 months of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit $793,680 and pay the same amount in restitution—money clawed from investors who trusted him with their financial futures.
The scheme ran from 2012 to February 2018, during which Bressman exploited his control over trade allocations to rig the system in his favor. By cherry-picking winners and offloading losers, he systematically defrauded clients while padding his own pockets and those of relatives. The fraud came to light after federal investigators uncovered irregular trading patterns across multiple accounts.
Bressman originally faced indictment in the District of Massachusetts on September 11, 2018, but the case was transferred to New Jersey on November 8, 2018, under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 21. In June 2019, he pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of investment advisor fraud—admitting to a betrayal of trust that spanned nearly a decade.
The takedown was led by United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Division. The Securities and Exchange Commission in New York played a critical role in the investigation, tracking the illicit flow of trades and unmasking Bressman’s rigged allocation tactics.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen of Lelling’s Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney Howard, Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit in New Jersey, prosecuted the case. The sentence sends a clear message: brokers who steal from clients will face federal time, not just fines or license suspensions.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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