A man from the state of Washington will be going to prison for a scheme to steal from an elderly client who trusted him as a financial advisor, Financial Advisor reports.
57-year-old John S. Winslow was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to three years in prison. He was indicted last year on four counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, four counts of money laundering, and four counts of making and subscribing a false tax return.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington stated that Winslow was a financial advisor at a national financial services firm until he was fired after revelations he had stolen over $920,000 in life savings and inheritance from a former client, a widow in her 70’s.
Prosecutors said that between 2017 and 2021, WInslow took the money from the woman’s bank and brokerage accounts and diverted it into his own accounts through wire transfers, check deposits and gold coin purchases.
According to court records, Winslow moved funds out of the victim’s brokerage accounts with the financial services firm and into her outside bank account in multiple transactions. He did this to conceal his fraud by placing the victim’s funds outside of the firm’s surveillance system.
“From the victim’s outside bank account, the funds were transferred into Winslow’s bank account, again in multiple transactions,” the U.S. Attorney said. “Winslow used his trusted status with the victim to further the fraud. He falsely claimed to the victim that if she transferred money to him, he would repay her at a higher interest rate than what she was getting from her banks. He visited the victim at her home and instructed the victim to call the bank and put the call on speaker. He then told the victim what she should tell the bank. Winslow then used the victim’s funds for his own benefit.”
To conceal the scheme, prosecutors learned that Winslow funneled the victim’s funds through extra layers of transactions. For example, he purchased gold coins from an online gold retailer in multiple transactions, then sold those gold coins to two local brick-and-mortar gold retailers before depositing the proceeds into his bank account.
“Over about four years, this defendant stole more than $900,000 from an elderly victim. First, he ingratiated himself with the victim. He took her grocery shopping and bought her flowers and chocolate. Then, he took advantage of her trust, her cognitive decline and isolation,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “He used the victim’s funds to live with luxuries – buying an island home, installing a hot tub, and purchasing a new car. All the while, the victim scrimped and lived on a limited budget. This prison sentence holds him accountable.”
Winslow was also reported to have lied to his employer after the firm launched a review, claiming the transfers were at the victim’s request to cover estate expenses, home remodeling and the purchase of a rental property.
During the fraud-scheme period, prosecutors said Winslow failed to report the funds that he stole from the victim on his federal tax returns, resulting in a tax loss of approximately $254,000.
Along with the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Tiffany M. Carwright ordered Winslow to pay $1,175,475 in restitution representing the theft from the victim as well as the tax loss to the U.S.
The victim sued the financial services firm, and the suit was setttled for $920,483, so that amount of restitution is due to the firm. But the victim had to pay attorney fees of nearly $321,000 to obtain the settlement.
Winslow agreed to forfeit his Fox Island home to help pay his restitution obligation.
Winslow’s attorney of record, Heather Carroll of the Federal Public Defender’s office, could not be reached by press time, according to Financial Advisor.
Winslow was barred from the industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in 2022, and by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2025.
Hyman Cotter 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 at (833) 665-0784 or through our online contact form for a no-cost evaluation of your matter.
