A former San Antonio financial advisor is facing multiple criminal charges after authorities said he stole funds from an elderly client, according to Financial Advisor.
56-year-old Eric A. Dupre was arrested on five felony counts for allegedly misappropriating about $2.19 million between September 2022 and 2023 from 77-year-old Albert Vale. Dupre was indicted by a Bexar County grand jury on charges that include theft, misappropriation of funds and financial abuse of the elderly. He was released from jail after posting a $100,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on January 26.
The alleged crimes occurred when Dupre was a financial adviser in San Antonio with Ameriprise Financial Services LLC. He was fired by Ameriprise in December 2023 for what disciplinary records stated was a violation of company policy related to borrowing from clients.
The records allege that because of financial difficulties, Dupre borrowed over $2 million through a series of loans from the client, telling him he would pay the loan back plus an additional amount.
“Given his financial circumstances at the time he borrowed the money from the customer, Dupre did not have a reasonable expectation of repaying the loans, and to date, Dupre has not repaid any portion of the funds loaned to him by the customer,” the records state. The disciplinary documents say Dupre did not get prior approval from Ameriprise for the loans.
An arrest affidavit cited multiple bank transactions that investigators say traced directly to Dupre’s personal use.
In July, Dupre was barred from the industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority due to the allegations that he had borrowed over $2.2 million from Vale and two other customers without approval from Ameriprise. FINRA said Dupre borrowed the money, most of it from Vale, through undocumented and unsecured personal loans. The authority said the alleged loans were made after the client borrowed on margin from his own Ameriprise investment account to raise the funds, leaving him with heavy debt and no repayment.
Last month, an arbitration panel awarded Albert and Kathleen Vale more than $1.1 million in compensatory damages against Dupre in connection with the same alleged misconduct. The couple accused Dupre of steering their savings into “ill-performing and unsuitable investments that had no real potential for growth.”.
In October 2024, Dupre filed for Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy, listing assets between $50,000 and $100,000 and liabilities ranging from $1 million to $10 million. He voluntarily dismissed the case a month later.
“Mr. Dupre violated firm policy when he accepted a loan from a client and was terminated,” Ameriprise spokesperson Ali Mueller said. “He circumvented our controls by conducting his activity away from the firm, and his actions were wholly inconsistent with our code of conduct and strict compliance standards.”
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.
