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Michael Giokas Sentenced to 52 Months in Prison for Wire Fraud in New York
A Clarence investment advisor has been sentenced to 52 months in prison for defrauding numerous clients out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced that Michael Giokas, 59, of Clarence, NY, was convicted of wire fraud for his role in the scheme. Giokas was also ordered to pay restitution totaling $916,396.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Bonanno, who handled the case, Giokas was a financial advisor and president of Giokas Wealth Advisors, located in Clarence. Between May 2017 and October 2017, Giokas persuaded certain clients to withdraw money from their investment accounts at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and invest the money in a company called Trinity Council, LLC.
Giokas claimed that Trinity Council was a fund that invested in private corporations; that investments were guaranteed to earn interest between eight and nine percent per year; and that investment principal was guaranteed. However, Trinity Council was actually a shell company that engaged in no investment or business activity.
In a separate scheme, between 2015 and October 2017, Giokas prompted Nationwide to transfer money from his clients’ Nationwide accounts to the defendant under the guise of “fee requests.” Giokas claimed that he was entitled to the requested money as investment advisory fees, despite the fact that the requested amounts greatly exceeded what the defendant was entitled to pursuant to his fee agreements with his clients.
As a result of the two schemes, Giokas defrauded clients out of $1,473,396.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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