New Haven County resident Matthew Clason, age 40, of Cheshire, was sentenced on Tuesday, Dec. 7, to 30 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for one count of wire fraud, according to an announcement from Leonard Boyle, acting United States attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Clason pleaded guilty to the charge on May 12, Boyle said.
The US Attorney's Office said that beginning in 2015, while working as an investment advisor and representative of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation, Clason provided investment services to a 73-year-old Connecticut resident.
In January of 2018, Clason and the client opened a joint bank account together, Boyle said.
From 2018 to August 2020, Clason transferred more than $668,000 from the client's investment accounts into the joint bank account and withdrew more than $621,000 for his own personal use without the client's knowledge, Boyle said.
Clason also transferred $5,000 from the joint bank account to his personal account, and he made two transfers from the joint account to pay his personal credit card, the US Attorney's Office reported.
Clason was also ordered to pay $639,580 in restitution as part of his sentence, Boyle said.
He is required to report to prison on Feb. 28.
Seniors who may be victims of financial fraud can contact the Justice Department's National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-372-8311, the US Attorney's Office reported.
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