A former broker from Ohio was sentenced in federal court for orchestrating a scheme to defraud elderly clients, Financial Advisor reported.
53-year-old Ronald Scott Daley of Miamisburg was ordered to serve 54 months in prison after pleading guilty last May to wire fraud and tax evasion.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio, Daley was employed by a life insurance brokerage firm and advised several elderly clients about life insurance and annuity products.
“From at least 2012 until 2020, Daley fraudulently convinced client victims to withdraw certain assets from the insurance brokerage firm and to deposit the funds into their own personal accounts”, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “Daley then influenced the victims to make payments to a bank account for an entity that Daley controlled.”
Daley was found to have defrauded three victims out of more than $707,000 and also failing to file and pay taxes on the fraudulent income. As part of his conviction, he will have to repay the approximately $707,000 in restitution and will also pay nearly $212,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.
From 1995 to 2021, Daley worked for Cincinnati-based W&S Brokerage Services, Inc., a broker-dealer and investment advisory firm dually registered with the SEC and FINRA. His BrokerCheck record states he was fired in August 2025 for violating the firm’s policies.
Daley consented to a bar by FINRA in September 2021, after refusing to appear for testimony and to produce documents and information relating to the fraud.
A complaint was also filed against him prior to his termination “on behalf of an elderly customer through her Power of Attorney, alleging conversion of funds withdrawn from life insurance and fixed annuities between September 2015 to February 2020.”
Hyman Cotter PC routinely represents investors harmed when financial professionals and their firms engaged in misconduct that caused their clients investment losses. Our team includes lawyers who have worked for large financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley and UBS Financial Services, and regulatory bodies such as the SEC. If you think your financial professional or firm engaged in misconduct that caused you investment losses, contact Hyman Cotter PC at 312-291-4600 or through our online contact form for a no-cost evaluation of your matter.
