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Press Release

Local Investment Advisor Pleads Guilty To Fraud Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Missouri

St. Louis, MO – CHARLES WILLIAMS pled guilty to defrauding investors of their funds between on or about November 1, 2007 and January 31, 2013. The 11 individuals whose funds were invested in the C.R. Williams Investment Fund, LLC, and the C.R. Williams Tax Advantaged Investment Fund, LLC reported that they provided defendant more than $753,144.  By December 28, 2012, UMB Bank records revealed that only $11,800 remained in the C.R. Williams Investment Fund, LLC account, and $54,400 in the C.R. Williams Tax Advantaged Investment Fund, LLC account.

According to court documents, on March 6, 2008, the Securities and Exchange Commission barred Williams from association with any investment adviser, and revoked the investment adviser registration of C. R. Williams, Inc.  Nevertheless, Williams and his corporation continued to accept investments into C.R. Williams Investment Fund, LLC, and C.R. Williams Tax Advantaged Investment Fund, LLC, until 2012 from existing account holders.  Between November 2007 and January 2013, Williams devised a scheme to defraud financial investors by promising that the funds they provided to him were maintained in the C.R. Williams Investment Fund, LLC and C.R. Williams Tax Advantaged Investment Fund, LLC.  Without the authorization of the investors, Williams made multiple electronic transfers from investor accounts into his two investment funds.  In order to conceal the transfers of funds from the two investment accounts into other financial accounts, Williams prepared and mailed fraudulent portfolio valuations for C.R. Williams Investment Fund, LLC and C.R. Williams Tax Advantaged Investment Fund, LLC to investors.  Williams used the investors’ funds to pay for his office rental, personal expenses, mortgage and vehicle expenses, as well as to draft checks which he made payable to himself.

Williams, St. Louis, Missouri, pled guilty to one felony count of wire fraud and two felony counts of mail fraud before United States District Judge Henry Autrey.  Sentencing has been set for May 26, 2015.  
Each of these charges carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.      

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Assistant United States Attorney Tracy Berry is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. 
Updated March 19, 2015