A former Indiana financial advisor who stole more than $4.6 million from a client has been sentenced to four years in federal prison , according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
Christopher Turean, 43, of Fishers, Ind., was sentenced on Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew P. Brookman. He was also ordered to be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release and pay $6,417,746 in restitution.
Turean pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a tax return in November.
Prosecutors said Turean, who was employed by Valeo Financial Advisors from September 2012 to February 2022, began dipping into his client’s investment funds for his personal use around 2015. Prosecutors said the client believed that Turean was investing the money on his behalf in real estate.
Turean, prosecutors said, created a company called SCNT LLC in July 2019 and opened a bank account at JP Morgan Chase Bank where he also held a personal bank account. He began transferring the client’s funds into the SCNT account and would then move it to his personal account, prosecutors said, noting that the client approved the money transfers based on “Turean’s fraudulent representations that SCNT was being used to invest in real estate.”
Prosecutors said Turean provided bogus net worth statements to the client, one of which showed that the client had $1.2 million invested in “SCNT LLC Real Estate Fund,” which included five properties.
In total, Turean stole $4,692,500 from the victim, using the money on sports gambling websites such as DraftKings and FanDuel. He also used $1,053,062.94 from the SCNT account to pay the balance of a home equity line of credit secured by his personal residence, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Turean also filed a false income tax return reporting that his income was $429,916, concealing about $1,745,246 in taxes owed.
Turean began his career with Hufford Financial Advisors in 2010. He joined Valeo Financial Advisor in 2012 and remained there until 2022, when he was fired for “misappropriation oof customer funds,” according to BrokerCheck. The Ceritfied Board of Financial Professional permanently revoked Turean’s license in August 2022 for failing to respond to a request for information related to the theft allegation.
The Internal Revenue Service began investigating Turean at the time of his firing. “Turean abused his position of trust by stealing from his investors for his own selfish purposes. He not only violated the law, but he also betrayed the trust and confidence of his investors who relied on him to act in their best interests,” Justin Campbell, special agent in charge with IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago, said in a statement. “This case should serve as a stark reminder of the vital importance of safeguarding one's personal finances and remaining vigilant against those who seek to exploit their positions of trust for personal gain,"