A North Carolina advisor formerly affiliated with New York Life was sentenced to 11 years in prison yesterday after being convicted of stealing $1.3 million from an elderly client.
Furman Alexander Ford, 52, of Raleigh was convicted of 11 counts of mail fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud and two counts of identity theft in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Prosecutors said Ford worked as a field agent at New York Life in Raleigh, from 2012 to 2015. While there, his primary client was the 72-year-old victim, for whom he was acting as an insurance and financial agent, the DOJ said. The client inherited property worth $1.3 million. After Ford’s assistance with the sale, the client put $1,395,747.68 into a charitable annuity trust, also with Ford’s help. As the client’s agent, he was to submit letters of withdrawal to pay the client’s expenses.
U.S. postal inspectors and FBI agents found during an investigation that Ford had drafted 20 fraudulent letters on behalf of the victim to New York Life’s headquarters in New York City that requested fund withdrawals ranging from $5,000 to $45,000 and totaling over $376,000.
“The proceeds were then electronically wired by NYL to Ford’s personal checking account,” said the Justice Department in a release announcing the sentencing. “An FBI financial analysis traced the funds to the purchase by Ford of various personal items, including a BMW vehicle, Rolex watches, firearms, child support, and a cruise to the Bahamas.”
Then in December 2014, Ford withdrew $1 million more from the client’s annuity account.
Ford was convicted on March 10, 2021.