FBI Nabs Senior Abuse Suspect
Adorean Boleancu, a former financial adviser with both Wells, Fargo and Morgan Stanley, pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing $1.8 million from one of his elderly clients. According to a statement from the Department of Justice, he faces 30 years in prison when sentenced later this year. Often bankers, stockbrokers and financial advisers are the ones that first spot senior abuse. Unfortunately, here it was the 83 year old victim’s own adviser that committed the crime.
Prosecutors say that Boleancu admitted to writing more than $1.8 million in checks on accounts of an elderly, widowed client for his personal benefit. He signed the victim’s name to checks drawn on the victim’s brokerage account and home equity lines of credit without the victim’s knowledge or authorization. The checks were payable to his family members, his girlfriend, another female acquaintance, cash, and financial companies where Boleancu had credit card accounts.
Originally Boleancu was charged with 14 counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and identity theft. A copy of the indictment can be found here.
The victim in this case is lucky in that Boleancu’s previous employers have “deep pockets” and may be on the hook for Boleancu’s actions. Unfortunately, that is not always the case in elder fraud cases. Previously the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ordered Boleancu to pay restitution. In our experience, however, criminals and thieves often don’t have much money by the time they are caught.
One of the most common types of senior abuse is financial fraud. As baby boomers are now entering their retirement years, we expect the problem will only grow. Seniors are often too old and incapacitated to defend themselves or even understand that they are being victimized.
If you are the victim of senior abuse or believe that someone is stealing money from a loved one, seek help immediately. The key to success is quick action. It’s important to freeze funds before they are distributed or at least keep the fraudsters from spending the money while claims are being resolved in court.
Need more information about senior abuse or elder financial fraud? We are happy to help and are initial consultations are without cost. All inquiries are protected by the attorney – client privilege too. For more information, contact the author at (414) 704-6731 or by email at .
Post by Brian Mahany, Esq.
[Ed. Note: Earlier this year we reported when Adorean Boleancu was initially charged. You can read more about that here.]