Investment advisor pleads guilty to defrauding elderly client out of nearly $10 million

ATLANTA - Eijroghene Okuma, a former investment advisor, pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud after defrauding an elderly client out of nearly $10 million over a three-year period.

"This was the ultimate act of financial betrayal," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. "Instead of abiding by his fiduciary obligations, Okuma exploited an elderly man's trust and stole millions. We will aggressively prosecute investment professionals who scheme to steal clients' funds, rather than protect their financial interests."

"Eijroghene Okuma abused a position of trust to carry out a calculated scheme that stole millions from an elderly victim," said Peter Ellis, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Georgia. "The FBI is committed to protecting older Americans from financial exploitation and will continue working with our partners to ensure criminals who target seniors are held accountable."

According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: Between 2010 and May 2023, Okuma was a financial and investment advisor with Edward Jones. In that capacity, Okuma had complete access to the Edward Jones brokerage accounts of an elderly client ("Victim-1"), who was born in 1944.

Okuma's fraudulent scheme began in February 2022 after his appointment to administer the estate of Victim-1's sister. Beginning in March 2022, Okuma began embezzling from Victim-1 by falsely representing that the sister's estate needed funds. Victim-1 permitted Okuma to transfer $500,000 from one of Victim-1's brokerage accounts to a bank account purportedly held for the estate, but Okuma ultimately transferred the money to a bank account in the name of his wife's company without Victim-1's knowledge. Similarly, in June 2022, Okuma stole approximately $400,000 by transferring funds he deceived Victim-1 into paying.

After embezzling nearly $1 million from Victim-1, Okuma set up fraudulent accounts to steal millions more. In early February 2023, Okuma opened an unauthorized Vanguard brokerage account in the name of a revocable trust, which Okuma was involved in creating in Victim-1's name, as well as using Victim-1's personal identifying information and a fraudulent email account that Okuma created. Victim-1 had no knowledge of the Vanguard account until Okuma's scheme was uncovered more than two years later. On the same day that Okuma opened the fraudulent Vanguard account, he added himself as a custodian to a bank account in Victim-1's name, which gave him full authority to withdraw funds without Victim-1's approval.

Approximately two weeks later, Okuma began transferring funds from Victim-1's brokerage accounts to the fraudulent Vanguard account. By the end of February 2023, Okuma had transferred approximately $9 million of Victim-1's funds to the Vanguard account without Victim-1's knowledge. Between August 2023 and March 2025, Okuma embezzled approximately $9 million of Victim-1's funds from the Vanguard account by writing checks to bank accounts controlled by him or his wife and electronic transfers.

Okuma used the stolen money to build a $5.2 million residence in Vinings, Georgia, join a beach club and purchase a fractional share of a beach house for approximately $1.4 million, and donate approximately $340,000 to his church.

Sentencing for Eijroghene Okuma, 43, of Lithia Springs, Georgia, is scheduled for June 23, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Geraghty.

On January 30, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a settled action against Okuma relating to the above scheme in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. On February 18, 2026, a final judgment was entered against Okuma under which he agreed to pay more than $13 million, including more than $1 million in prejudgment interest and a $3 million civil penalty.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with valuable assistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla is prosecuting the case.

For more information about the Department of Justice's efforts to help older Americans and to combat elder abuse, neglect, financial exploitation and fraud, please visit https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice. The Department provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney's Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.