A former St. Louis-area financial advisor has pled guilty to diverting more than $1.8 million from clients’ retirement accounts to finance his lavish lifestyle, according to the U.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Greg J. Campbell of Ladue, Mo., pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Friday.
Campbell first worked for Merrill Lynch and then for Four Seasons Wealth Management, a firm that offered securities and advisory services through LPL Financial LLC. At Merrill Lynch, Campbell managed clients’ loan management accounts, which are lines of credit collateralized by securities. Between 2007 and 2011, Campbell fraudulently diverted more than $1.4 million from the accounts, the U.S. Attorney says.
At Four Seasons between 2011 and 2012, he managed clients’ individual retirement accounts and diverted more than $360,000 to his own use. He changed mailing addresses on accounts to an address he had access to so that clients did not receive account statements. He also misrepresented himself as one client’s grandson, according to the U.S. Attorney.
The money was used to buy a home, pay the mortgage, buy luxury cars and pay his living expenses.
Sentencing is set for September 10.