A Fort Lauderdale-based advisor pleaded guilty to a scheme targeting Venezuelan citizens that defrauded investors of $94 million, according to the Justice Department.
Andrew Jacobus pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in Florida federal court last week. Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Jacobus in the scheme (at that time, the agency pegged losses at $17 million).
According to court documents and SEC filings, Jacobus’ fraud began in 2004, when he falsely portrayed himself as a “seasoned” financial advisor.
Jacobus purportedly operated funds through entities under his control, including Kronus Financial Corporation and Finser International Corporation.
He was SEC-registered with Finser between 2010 and 2021, claiming to provide services to clients of a currency exchange provider he ran in Venezuela (though the SEC censured him in 2020 for charging “exorbitant” performance fees against funds he managed).
According to the commission, starting in 2015 and through April 2024, Jacobus instructed clients to deposit money into U.S. bank and brokerage accounts in his name, promising to invest their funds in securities, including limited partnership interests in a fund that purportedly invested in IPOs.
Jacobus lied to investors about their money, creating false account statements and documentation, and used the client funds for his own personal expenses (including his mortgage, property taxes, real estate, travel and vehicles), as well as Ponzi-style payments to other victims.
According to the DOJ and SEC, Jacobus primarily targeted Venezuelans, with the commission finding he stole about $3.2 million from Catholic Church clergy and dioceses in Venezuela. When Jacobus stopped paying some clients altogether in 2021, he claimed that “liquidity issues and regulatory restrictions” were to blame.
According to a report from the Miami Herald, several affluent Venezuelan citizens sued Jacobus in 2023, accusing him of fraud and civil theft, and claiming that he’d refused to return their money. The victims included “a renowned sculptor, a plastic surgeon and a wealthy businessman who owns a crane business.”
Jacobus faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each count to which he pleaded, and a federal district court judge will determine the sentence at a later date.
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