Former Financial Advisor Sentenced for Scheme to Steal Funds from Elderly Bank Customers

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Tyler Rigsbee, 33, of Cameron Park, was sentenced today to two years in prison and ordered to pay $158,960 in restitution for committing aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, from 2016 to 2021, Rigsbee worked as a FINRA-registered financial advisor at a major bank in Sacramento. During his employment, Rigsbee targeted elderly bank customers and stole $158,960 from these victims’ accounts.

Rigsbee stole $113,160 from one elderly victim’s account by using the name and identity of the account beneficiary to fraudulently transfer the funds into another account that Rigsbee had set up and controlled in the beneficiary’s name. Rigsbee next stole $45,800 from the account of a second elderly victim by transferring funds in incremental amounts into a separate account that Rigsbee had set up and controlled in the victim’s name. Rigsbee then pocketed the money by transferring these funds into his own personal bank account.

Toward the end of his scheme, Rigsbee attempted to conceal his theft by stealing $16,700 from a third elderly customer’s account and attempting to funnel that money into the second victim’s account to partially replace what he previously stole. However, this transaction was flagged, and the funds were reverted.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot C. Wong prosecuted the case.