FISHERS, Ind. — A Fishers investment advisor was sentenced to four years in federal prison for embezzling nearly $5 million.
Christopher Turean, 43, had pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.
According to court documents, the victim in the case deposited personal funds into an investment account managed by an investment company, which Turean was supposed to invest on behalf of the victim.
Tureen created a company in July 2019 and began to transfer money from the victim's investment account to an account with that company. He then used the money "to gamble and pay down a home equity loan on his house," the DOJ said in a statement.
Turean hid the activity from his employer and the victim by sending fraudulent updates describing the funds as real estate investments.
Turean stole a total of $4,692,500 from the victim and filed false tax returns concealing around $1.7 million in taxes owed.
"Investors have a right to trust that professionals obligated to act in their best interests aren’t stealing their hard-earned money," Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in a statement. “This criminal used his position as a trusted professional to steal nearly five million dollars, and ten concealed nearly two million dollars in taxes owed."
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigations. The judge ordered Turean be placed on supervised release for three years after his release from federal prison and pay roughly $6.4 million in restitution.
