Cuyahoga County man pleads guilty to securities fraud and theft
Robert F. Earl, a resident of Westlake, Ohio, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to 22 felony counts involving securities fraud and theft. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 19.
As part of his sentence, Earl has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $262,214.99 to his victims and has agreed to not contact them.
Earl was indicted in July 2023 in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on 95 felony criminal counts, including securities fraud, theft from an elderly person and unlicensed activity.
The indictment alleged that Earl solicited 12 individuals to invest more than $347,000 in Aquarius II Investment Funds LLC, a company he created to engage in day trading. Earl allegedly transferred most of the investor funds into his personal trading account and continued to issue false statements to victims regarding the value of the securities, even after the funds were lost or misappropriated into his own account.
The indictments followed a criminal referral by the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Securities.
“Day trading is a risky proposition for even the most sophisticated investment professional and Mr. Earl had neither the proper license nor the requisite expertise to engage in this activity,” said Ohio Securities Commissioner Andrea Seidt on Tuesday’s plea. “Folks seeking to gamble with investor money, especially the life savings of retirees, should look outside Ohio because the Ohio Division of Securities will not hesitate to bring violators to justice in day trading frauds like these.”
Before investing, the Division of Securities encourages potential investors to call the Division’s Investor Protection Hotline at 877-683-7841. Specifically, individuals should ask the following questions:
• Is the securities professional, platform or firm properly licensed to do business in Ohio?
• Is the security being promoted by the firm, platform or the professional registered for sale in Ohio?
• Are there any enforcement actions involving the firm, professional, platform or securities product being promoted?
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