A California investment advisor has been charged in federal court with defrauding a Libertyville client out of approximately $500,000, authorities said.
Jordan Roman, 47, of Rancho Park, Calif., is charged with wire fraud in a criminal information filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, authorities said.
Arraignment in federal court has not yet been scheduled.
Roman operated Illinois-based Drumstick Timpani Fund L.P., through which he solicited and obtained funds from clients, U.S. Attorney’s Office officials said.
Roman fraudulently obtained funds from the unidentified Libertyville victim between 2012 to 2024, authorities allege.
He allegedly did so by misrepresenting the intended use of the investment and falsely boasting of the investment’s performance and value, officials said.
In addition, Roman falsely told the victim that he would invest the money on the victim’s behalf, even though he knew some of the money would be used for his personal benefit, including paying utility and credit card bills, the information states.
Roman concealed his misappropriation by creating bogus account statements and tax forms that falsely represented the victim’s investment as greater than its actual value, authorities said.
The information was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Hasten and Paige Nutini.