DETROIT – A 75-year-old financial advisor from Detroit tricked a retiree and a church into giving him money that he kept to make up for money he lost in a lottery scam, officials said.
Lawrence Roberson, 75, of Detroit, ran a company called Wealth Management LLC in 2015 and was the financial advisor for People’s Community Church and a retiree, according to authorities.
Roberson recommended both clients invest money in a specific bond, but when they gave him the funding, he kept it for himself to make up for his own losses from a lottery scam, officials said.
The retiree lost nearly half of her retirement savings, and Roberson took a significant portion of the church’s resources, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
Roberson pleaded guilty to embezzlement between $50,000 to $100,000 by an agent. He lost his financial advisor’s license and was forced to close his business.
“Mr. Roberson abused his authority as an advisor to steal from his clients and must be held accountable,” Nessel said. “When bad actors take advantage of their clients for personal gain, my Financial Crimes Division is prepared to prosecute egregious and illegal violations of their client’s trust.”
He was sentenced Thursday, July 20, to three years of probation and ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution to the retiree and $50,000 in restitution to the church.
