Montana Broker Sean Finn Gets 87-Month Sentence for Fraud

WHITEFISH, MT – Sean Finn, a 51-year-old broker from Whitefish, Montana, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar investment-fraud scheme that bilked victims out of more than $3.8 million.

Finn, who was convicted on charges including conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, also faces a fine of over $6 million and the forfeiture of $830,000, according to U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson of the District of Nevada.

The scheme, which involved promoting fictitious investments through a Swiss company called Malom Group AG, was carried out in collaboration with others in both the United States and Switzerland. Finn’s co-conspirators promised victims substantial cash loans in exchange for upfront payments ranging from $100,000 to $1 million. They provided fabricated bank documents claiming that Malom held hundreds of millions in overseas accounts.

Victims’ funds were funneled into an escrow account controlled by the co-conspirators, where they were released and dispersed, including to Finn for personal use. In 2013, before he was indicted, Finn fled to Canada but was ultimately extradited back to the U.S. in 2018.

Two of Finn’s co-defendants, Anthony Brandel and James Warras, were sentenced to similar terms in 2016. Joseph Micelli pleaded guilty and received a sentence of 60 months. Martin Schlaepfer and Hans-Jurg Lips, the other two defendants, remain at large.

The FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office led the investigation, with prosecution assistance from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, and international partners.