Florida Investment Adviser Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Clients Out Of More Than One Million Dollars

Sean Donald Premock, 44, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, entered pleas of guilty to nine counts of mail fraud, nine counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud, and one count of investment adviser fraud, announced Acting United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen.

As part of his guilty plea, Premock, who was formerly a licensed stockbroker and investment adviser, got fired by his employer for selling investments that were not approved by his employer and then started his own investment companies that he used to defraud his existing and new clients, most of whom were elderly. Premock admitted that he obtained more than $1 million from his clients, who believed they were giving the money to Premock to invest for them, by lying to his clients and telling them he would put their money in stocks, bonds, and other “safe” investments, while in reality Premock spent most of their money on himself and used some of the money to pay other clients. Premock also admitted that he did not disclose to his clients that he had permanently lost his stockbroker and investment adviser licenses. Premock admitted that he fabricated false account statements that he mailed to his clients, and used other means to deceive his clients into believing their investments were safe and to stall their attempts to obtain the return of their funds, including blaming a “lack of liquidity” on the policies of then-President Obama.

Premock faces a maximum sentence of 385 years’ imprisonment, a five-year period of supervised release, a $9,510,000 fine, and a $2,000 special assessment, and a likely advisory sentencing guideline range of 87 – 108 months’ imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.