A former Edward Jones financial advisor entered a not guilty plea to charges of theft and forgery at an arraignment in Madison County (Indiana) Circuit Court that was conducted through a Zoom video chat, a circuit court spokeswoman said.
Casey Kemerly, who was arrested in Virginia, has been released from custody after entering a plea from his attorney’s office yesterday. Conducting court procedures through internet technology is becoming more common because of the pandemic, the spokeswoman said.
In 2019, a former business associate alleged that Kemerly stole files and a computer from her office and then used her clients to launch his own business in Pendleton, Ind., according to a report in the Indianapolis Star. Further details of the alleged incidents that resulted in the charges were not available at press time.
Kemerly, a resident of Lee County, Va., has been charged with forgery with intent to defraud, theft, an offense against intellectual property, and identify deception, among other charges, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra).
Kemerly previously worked as a financial advisor in Madison County, Ind. He started his career 12 years ago with Edward Jones and returned to Edward Jones in Pennington Gap, Va., this year. He “was not an associate at our firm when the alleged crimes occurred. He is no longer with our firm," an Edward Jones spokesperson said in an email. In between he worked for other firms, according to Finra.
The court date has been set for Jan. 11 and may be conducted by video, the court spokeswoman said.