Robert S. Beyer, II, Fraud, Missouri 2016

St. Louis, MO – A local financial advisor has been convicted of defrauding his clients out of nearly $300,000.

Robert S. Beyer, II, of Kirkwood, MO, was convicted of one felony count of wire fraud and one felony count of money laundering following a three-day trial in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

According to testimony presented at trial, starting in 2011, Beyer solicited his clients to place their money with Heroic Life Assurance Company, a fraudulent enterprise that Beyer created in order to steal money from his clients.

Beyer promised his victims returns between 8 and 18 percent per year, and told them they would be able to withdraw their money at any time. However, evidence at trial established that Beyer spent his clients’ money on personal bills, including car repairs, child support, and dating services.

In addition, Beyer used money from his victims to pay the expenses of Heroic Life Assurance Foundation, a non-profit entity that Beyer planned to use to recruit new victims by offering businesspeople free entrepreneurship classes. To conceal the true source of the Foundation’s funding, Beyer created a fictional persona named Jesus Cristobal, a wealthy South American financier who was supposedly bankrolling the Foundation’s operations.

Beyer’s victims lost nearly $300,000 in the scheme. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000 for the wire fraud charge, and up to 10 years and/or $250,000 for the money laundering charge.

Sentencing has been set for December 7, 2016. The case was investigated by the Kirksville Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with Assistant United States Attorneys Richard Finneran and Amanda Wick handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Beyer was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering charges involving a scheme to lure investors into investing money with Heroic Life Assurance Company, a fraudulent enterprise that Beyer created in order to steal money from his clients.

The victims, who were promised returns between 8 and 18 percent per year, lost nearly $300,000 in the scheme.

Beyer’s sentencing is set for December 7, 2016.

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