A Middleboro financial advisor is facing up to 20 years in prison after being charged in Federal District Court with defrauding and stealing retirement assets from his elderly clients. Paul R. McGonigle, 65, was charged with three counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in Federal District Court.
If found guilty, under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, the charges of mail and wire fraud carry a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater. Whereas, the single count of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater.
According to court documents, Mr. McGonigle began stealing from his elderly clients in 2018. He started making unauthorized withdrawals from his clients’ annuities by posing as his clients on calls with their annuity companies. He also convinced them to give him money to invest on their behalf. Instead of making those investments, however, he used the funds for both personal and business expenses. Finally, in order to effectuate his scheme, he forged his clients signatures on forms requesting the withdrawals from their annuities.
In addition to the investigation into his activities by the Department of Justice, Mr. McGonigle was also automatically barred from “association with any FINRA member in all capacities on November 16, 2020” for his failure to respond to an initial FINRA request for information as a result of his activities in August of 2020.
Mr. McGonigle, who has been arrested and charged, has made his first appearance in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell. Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement and was helped in the investigation by the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney of Mendell’s Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
