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.”