Home Atlanta Press Releases 2010 Augusta Investment Advisor Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Defrauding Clients of Over $1.7 Million
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Augusta Investment Advisor Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Defrauding Clients of Over $1.7 Million

U.S. Attorney’s Office July 15, 2010
  • Southern District of Georgia (912) 652-4422

AUGUSTA, GA—WALTER MARION WILLIAMS, age 65, from Augusta, Georgia, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Court Judge J. Randal Hall to nine years in prison for defrauding his clients of more than $1.7 million over a 17-year span.

United States Attorney Edward J. Tarver stated, “Williams’ actions were deplorable. He robbed many elderly Americans of the fruits of their many years of hard work and preparation. This massive betrayal of trust will have a lasting impact on the victims, their families and the entire community. Williams’ decision to rob senior citizens of their hard earned investments has now landed him in federal prison. This office is committed to aggressively prosecuting anyone who uses a position of trust to prey upon unwitting victims.”

Williams pled guilty in March 2010 to mail fraud. The charge alleged that from 1992 through 2009, Williams defrauded clients of their investments in his insurance and investment company, Walt Williams Insurance Associates. Evidence presented during Williams’ guilty plea and sentencing hearing showed that Williams misled clients into believing he had invested money for them in various life insurance and other investments. Instead, Williams deposited his clients’ moneys into his personal and business accounts, then spending the money for his own personal benefit.

At Wednesday’s sentencing, the court heard testimony from a number of victims—many of them elderly and in ill health—about the impact Williams’ scheme has had on them and their families. The government asked the court to impose a greater sentence than the Federal Sentencing Guidelines calculated for Williams of 51 to 63 months. In granting the government’s motion and sentencing Williams to nearly four years more than the maximum under the guidelines, Judge Hall noted the “extraordinary evil” that Williams “unleashed” while “financ[ing] 17 years of a lavish lifestyle on the backs of [his] victims.” The court found that Williams had stolen not only money from the victims, “but also their security and dignity.”

In lieu of a fine, the court ordered that Williams make restitution to the victims of his fraudulent scheme in an amount exceeding $1.7 million. The court also ordered that after Williams serves his prison sentence, he will serve a term of three years of supervised release. Tarver noted that there is no parole in the federal system.

Tarver praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in particular Special Agents Paul Kubala and Jason Gustin, who investigated Williams’ fraud. The case was prosecuted by Stephen T. Inman, Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.

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