Jacqueline Stanfill Pleads Guilty To Fraud And Money Laundering Charges

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Jan. 11, 2016, Jacqueline J. Stanfill, 58, of Knoxville, Tenn., pleaded guilty to wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, charges contained in a July 2015 federal indictment, before the Honorable Leon Jordan, Senior U.S. District Judge.  A date for sentencing has not yet been set.

Stanfill faces potential sentences of: up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and supervised release of up to three years for the wire fraud charge;  up to 20 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and supervised release of up to three years for the mail fraud charge; and  up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction (whichever is greater) and supervised release of up to three years for the money laundering violation.  According to terms included in the plea agreement, the court will be asked to order the sentences imposed to run concurrently.  Restitution to the victims of her crimes as well as forfeiture of assets gained through her illegal acts may also be ordered by the court.

Stanfill was the owner and operator of Stanfill Wealth Management in Knoxville. In the plea agreement on file with the U.S. District Court Clerk, Stanfill admits that she claimed to invest her clients’ money with legitimate investment companies; however, she converted the funds to her own personal use.  In order to maintain the confidence of her clients, she created phony documents that had the appearance of account statements and correspondence from Charles Schwab and Co., Inc. She further attempted to maintain the confidence of her clients by making payments either under the guise of returning invested funds and accumulated earnings, and/or by sending funds to the Internal Revenue Service to maintain the illusion that the client’s fictitious investments were tax-deferred.

The investigation, which led to the indictment of Stanfill, was conducted by the FBI and IRS.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Dale and Jennifer Kolman represent the United States.

###