A former Citi and Wells Fargo rep has been charged with cheating three clients out of $1.5 million in a fraud that involved supposed investments in movie productions, according to law enforcement authorities.
Helen Grace Caldwell, 58, of Chicago, is facing federal wire fraud charges in papers filed with the U.S. District Court in Chicago on Friday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
In July, Caldwell was barred from the securities industry by Finra in connection with her alleged movie production fraud. The Chicago Sun-Times reported in December 2022 that she swindled $400,000 from an elderly client with dementia.
She worked with Wells Fargo from 2021 to 2022 and was with Citigroup for nine years, from 2012 to 2021, according to BrokerCheck. Both firms filed U5 termination forms saying Caldwell had been discharged over outside business activities. Her website says she has been involved in the movie business as an actor, director and producer.
She faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the criminal charges, prosecutors said.
"From 2014 to 2023, Caldwell solicited various bank clients, including elderly individuals, to invest in her alleged movie productions, knowing that those funds would actually be used for her own personal benefit," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release today. "Caldwell persuaded the victims to liquidate their other assets in order to fund her purported movie investments."
Caldwell worked as a senior financial advisor for a bank and created Canal Productions LLC, a company purportedly involved in movie production, that helped carry out the fraud, the office said.
The investments were sold by Caldwell to the three victims with the promise that the money would be used to fund movie productions, but the money was instead diverted to her personal bank account, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"In fact, as defendant knew, those representations were false because defendant intended to misappropriate, and did misappropriate, those proceeds for personal purposes," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in court filings.
Caldwell’s web page says that she’s a financial services professional and wealth management consultant with more than 25 years of experience. It also describes her as a filmmaker with 10 years of production experience. Her profile on IMDb, a film database, lists her as a producer on the comedy film "Give Till It Hurts" and a film called "Emblem." Canal also raised money for a film on Indiegogo called "Ankst," on which Caldwell is listed as a co-director.
Caldwell could not be reached for comment.