John Greg Schmidt – Securities Fraud Investigation

According to news reports last week, former financial advisor John Greg Schmidt was indicted on 128 felony counts and is reportedly incarcerated in Montgomery County Jail, in Dayton, Ohio.

Schmidt was reportedly working at Schmidt Investment Strategies Group while he was registered with Wells Fargo Advisors Financial since 2006.

From 2003 through 2017, in a classic Ponzi style scheme, Schmidt reportedly sold securities belonging to some of his brokerage customers and allegedly secretly transferred the sale proceeds to cover shortfalls in the accounts of other customers.

In total, Schmidt purportedly misappropriated over $1.16 million from accounts belonging to seven customers and transferred that cash to at least ten other customers whose accounts were experiencing shortfalls, according to the SEC, who filed charges against him in September.

An investigation was conducted by the Ohio Department of Insurance and the Ohio Department of Commerce after they noticed irregularities in Schmidt’s activity.

The Montgomery County Grand Jury indicted Schmidt Thursday on 124 counts of forgery, two counts of theft from an elderly or disabled adult totaling more than $150,000, one count of telecommunications fraud between $150,000 and $1,000,000, and one count of fraud or deceit by investment auditor totaling more than $150,000.

He will be arraigned on Thursday, January 10 at 8:30 a.m.

According to Schmidt’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, he was registered with Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network in Dayton, OH from December 2006 until he was fired in November 2017, “after allegations of unauthorized money movement between clients, and after the Firm was notified of an allegation of the existence of inaccurate account statements which appear not to have been generated or approved by the Firm.”

Schmidt currently has 5 customer complaints listed on his broker report; FINRA barred him from working in the financial industry in March.

John Greg Schmidt Broker Investigation

The White Law Group is investigating potential securities fraud claims involving John Greg Schmidt and the liability his former employer, Wells Fargo may have for failing to properly supervise him.

Those investors that incurred losses investing with Schmidt may be able to recover those losses through the FINRA arbitration process.

Under FINRA rules and regulations, Broker-Dealers are responsible for supervising the actions of those advisors registered with their firm, and therefore may be held liable for the actions of their Broker(s).

For a free case evaluation or to discuss any other investment losses, please contact The White Law Group, at 888-637-5510, or visit us on the web at www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Franklin, Tennessee.