South Puget Sound former financial advisor sentenced to three years in prison for stealing nearly $1 million from elderly client

Seattle - A 57-year-old Fox Island, Washington, man was sentenced late yesterday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to three years in prison for his scheme to steal from an elderly client who trusted him as a financial advisor, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. John S. Winslow was indicted just over a year ago on four counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, four counts of money laundering, and four counts of making and subscribing a false tax return. Winslow was a financial advisor at a national financial services firm until he was fired following revelations he had stolen over $920,000 in life savings and inheritance from a former client, a widow in her 70's. "This crime was personal," U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright. "Mr. Winslow had a longstanding relationship with this victim."

"Over about four years, this defendant stole more than $900,000 from an elderly victim. First, he ingratiated himself with the victim. He took her grocery shopping and bought her flowers and chocolate. Then, he took advantage of her trust, her cognitive decline and isolation," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. "He used the victim's funds to live with luxuries - buying an island home, installing a hot tub, and purchasing a new car. All the while, the victim scrimped and lived on a limited budget. This prison sentence holds him accountable."

"Lies, deceit, and fraud are not things that should be associated with any financial advisor trusted to protect a client's hard-earned money. However, Mr. Winslow chose exactly these things when he callously stole from his client," said Special Agent in Charge Carrie Nordyke, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Seattle Field Office. "IRS-CI will continue to pursue justice against those who choose to commit such financial crimes."

According to records in the case, Winslow moved funds out of the victim's brokerage accounts with the financial services firm and into her outside bank account in multiple transactions. He did this to conceal his fraud by placing the victim's funds outside of the firm's surveillance system. From the victim's outside bank account, the funds were transferred into Winslow's bank account, again in multiple transactions. Winslow used his trusted status with the victim to further the fraud. He falsely claimed to the victim that if she transferred money to him, he would repay her at a higher interest rate than what she was getting from her banks. He visited the victim at her home and instructed the victim to call the bank and put the call on speaker. He then told the victim what she should tell the bank. Winslow then used the victim's funds for his own benefit.

To hide the illicit nature of the funds, Winslow funneled the victim's funds through extra layers of transactions. For example, Winslow purchased gold coins from an online gold retailer in multiple transactions. He then sold those gold coins to two local brick-and-mortar gold retailers before depositing the proceeds into his bank account.

With each of these transactions, Winslow made the decision to steal from the victim. Prosecutors argued that such persistent and intentional fraud deserved a 70-month prison sentence. "Before each of these transactions, Winslow had the chance to stop and to ponder what he was doing to his victim. But he did not stop. He wanted the gravy train to keep on going. He kept at it even after his withdrawals from (the victim's) accounts triggered an elderly fraud alert. And he meant to bleed (the victim) dry. The only thing that stopped him from taking more of (the victim's) money was getting caught."

During the fraud-scheme period, Winslow also failed to report the funds that he stole from the victim on his federal tax returns, resulting in a tax loss of approximately $254,000.

Judge Carwright ordered Winslow to pay $1,175,475 in restitution representing the theft from the victim as well as the tax loss to the U.S.

The victim sued the financial services firm, and they settled the suit for $920,483. So that amount of restitution is due to the financial services firm. Unfortunately, the victim had to pay attorney fees of nearly $321,000 to obtain the settlement and so still suffered financial loss.

Winslow has agreed to forfeit his Fox Island home to help pay his restitution obligation.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Yunah Chung and Lauren Staniar.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.