Mark Preston French, $1.3M Precious Metals Scam, Ohio 2024

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Mark Preston French, 42, of Westerville, Ohio, is headed to federal prison after being sentenced today for a brazen scheme that bilked an elderly woman out of over $1.3 million. U.S. District Chief Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. handed down a three-month sentence and ordered French to pay nearly $112,000 in restitution.

The case, brought by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Benjamin C. Glassman, and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under Special Agent in Charge Angela L. Byers, reveals a calculated betrayal of trust. French, who worked as a stockbroker between 1998 and 2013, exploited a vulnerable client over a twelve-year period, beginning in 2000.

Court documents detail how French convinced the elderly woman, from Greenville, Pa., to open joint bank accounts with him in 2009, ostensibly for the purchase of precious metals. He then strong-armed her into transferring more than $1.3 million from existing securities into these joint accounts. While some of the funds were legitimately used to purchase gold and silver from Tulving Company in California, French helped himself to $111,848.73, diverting the money for personal use.

The scheme unraveled in September 2012 when the client requested physical possession of the precious metals French was supposedly safeguarding at his Westerville home. Rather than comply, French secretly sold the majority of the gold and silver back to Tulving Company. He returned approximately $1 million to the client, but pocketed a significant portion of the proceeds – and crucially, retained 11,942 ounces of silver purchased with her funds, valued at over $400,000 at the time.

French pleaded guilty in January 2016 to one count of wire fraud. While the sentence is relatively light, U.S. Attorney Glassman emphasized the importance of holding financial predators accountable. Deputy Criminal Chief Brenda Shoemaker, who prosecuted the case, played a key role in securing the conviction. The FBI’s investigation dug through layers of financial transactions to expose French’s deception.

This case serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of elderly investors and the lengths to which some individuals will go to enrich themselves at the expense of others. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and report on similar instances of financial exploitation.

MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS

White Collar Crime

Lucy Woods, Wire Fraud, Alabama 2023

Sep 12, 2018

White Collar Crime

Nakita Brooks, Tax Fraud Identity Theft, Tennessee 2014

Mar 19, 2015

White Collar Crime

Christopher Eric Carter, Money Laundering, Nevada 2005

Jan 15, 2005

White Collar Crime

Flying Bye, Wire Fraud, South Dakota 1974

Jan 15, 1974