Investment advisor to plead guilty to orchestrating $21M dollar Ponzi Scheme

July 5, 2016 2:31 pm

By: News Staff

news@abc6.com

The president of ClearPath Wealth Management, LLC, has agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges in connection to his orchestration of a $21 million dollar Ponzi scheme.

47-year old- Patrick Churchville of Barrington will plead guilty as charged in Information to five counts of wire fraud and one count of tax fraud.

According to an investigation conducted by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the United States Attornery’s Office, Churchville and ClearPath contributed roughly $18 million dollars in JER Receivables from 2008 to 2011.

Churchville became aware that the investments with JER were no longer producing returns and that ClearPath had been exposed to fraudulent and misleading representations by the principals of JER.

Churchville unsuccessfully informed his client investors that he had lost millions of dollars of invested funds.

Court documents show that in order to cover the fact that he had lost millions of dollars of client investor funds through his dealings with JER Receivables, he embezzled approximately $21 million dollars of investment money. He used this money to repay the JER investors and wrongly informed them that the money was the return on their investments.

United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha asserted, "Mr. Churchville, motivated by greed and a desire to live an outlandishly expensive lifestyle, used sleight of hand to swindle dozens of investors out of funds they had properly earned, giving false assurances all along the way."

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan.

United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha acknowledges and thanks the United States Postal Inspection Service – Boston Division for their assistance in the investigation of this matter.

Churchville is also a defendant in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil matter.