Tr?id=566623520170033&ev=PageView&noscript=1

Florida Investment Advisor Accused of Orchestrating $94 Million Fraud Targeting International Clients

Posted on August 14th, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Florida Investment Advisor Accused of Orchestrating $94 Million Fraud Targeting International Clients

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law

Federal prosecutors have charged Andrew Hamilton Jacobus, a former investment adviser based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with defrauding international investors of over $94 million over 20 years. According to ThinkAdvisor, the criminal case centers on allegations that Jacobus misrepresented his investment credentials and used client funds for personal enrichment and Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors.

Prosecutors allege that between 2004 and September 2024, Jacobus knowingly misled investors—primarily Venezuelan nationals and residents of Florida, Panama, Costa Rica, Spain, and Aruba—by promising annual returns of 12 to 15 percent through legitimate securities investments.

According to the federal indictment, Jacobus instead used investor funds to support a lavish lifestyle, cover mortgage and real estate expenses, purchase luxury vehicles, and funnel money into unrelated entities and ventures.

Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil complaint in May accusing Jacobus and two firms under his control of misappropriating over $17 million from approximately 40 advisory clients. ThinkAdvisor reports that many of the clients were elderly or members of the Catholic clergy in Venezuela. The SEC further claims Jacobus misled clients about investment legitimacy, fund accessibility, and actual account balances, and that he made approximately $7.8 million in Ponzi-like payments.

Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Jacobus consented to injunctive relief barring him from future securities industry activities, as well as to a forthcoming court order for civil penalties and disgorgement.

 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next
Quotes Bigger

We just wanted to say thanks for your work in helping us get back some of the money we lost. We are not by any means rich, but we have saved some money and we have done so through a tight-fisted approach to most everything we do. So losing a significant chunk of money hurt…especially at a time when everyone else was growing their accounts. We really appreciate the work you did.

Allan and Adele

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

1792610544 Law
October 21, 2026
FINRA Fines and Suspends Former LPL Broker Over Undisclosed Customer Settlement

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined former LPL Financial broker Gregory W.

1792523173 Law
October 20, 2026
FINRA Orders American Portfolios to Pay $1.6 Million Over Unit Investment Trust Supervision Failures

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has ordered American Portfolios, the broker-dealer later absorbed into Osaic, to pay more than $1.6 million in restitution and fines over failures to supervise financial advisors who repeatedly recommended that customers sell unit investment trusts (UITs) before maturity.

1792432258 Law
October 19, 2026
FINRA Bars Former LPL Broker Over Alleged $1.7 Million Customer Theft

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred former LPL Financial broker Rudy Anguiano after finding that he converted more than $1.7 million from two customers, according to AdvisorHub.