Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Former Valpo financial adviser gets one year for stealing $800K of client money

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A Valparaiso woman who made unauthorized transfers of more than half a million dollars from a client’s account while working as a franchised financial advisor for a national investment company has been sentenced to a year in detention, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana said.

Jennifer Guelinas, 44, was sentenced last week to four years of probation, including 12 months of detention, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Guelinas was also ordered to make restitution of $1,122,540 to Ameriprise Financial Services.

Guelinas had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of wire fraud.

According to court documents, between Dec. 29, 2006, and Nov. 5, 2010, Guelinas transferred in excess of $800,000 from a client’s account into her personal bank account by forging her client’s name on the wire transfer requests.

When her client “became aware of several of the above-described wire transfers, he questioned Guelinas, who provided false information in order to make the transfers appear legitimate,” the court documents state. Then, when the investment company questioned her, “she initially denied wrongdoing and provided misleading information but later admitted to forging (her client’s) name on wire transfer requests.”

 

 

Posted 5/20/2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

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