Toledo Investment Adviser Pleads Guilty to Fraud

Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan announced that James Simpson, 80, of Sylvania, Ohio, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, October 20, 2021, to investment adviser fraud.

According to court documents, Simpson, a former investment adviser in the Toledo area, admitted to defrauding clients out of more than $400,000 through a fictitious investment opportunity scheme. Beginning in 2020, Simpson interacted with numerous contacts and clients, claiming to have "access to special investment opportunities" at various interest rates and durations. Court records state that at least eight of these clients wrote Simpson a check to purchase investments totaling more than $400,000.

Court documents state that Simpson did not invest this money; rather, he deposited the checks and used the funds for his own personal benefit. In order to deceive investors and continue his scheme, Simpson used investor funds to pay other investors and make it appear that he did, in fact, invest the money.

Simpson is scheduled to be sentenced on February 2, 2022.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Toledo Resident Agency. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Freeman.