Prison-Bound Financial Advisor Racked Up 37 Complaints in Two Years

financial fraud

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A U.S. District Court judge sentenced a Wisconsin-based financial advisor last week to seven years in federal prison.

Michael Shillin, 33, formerly of Eau Claire, orchestrated a scheme to defraud his clients and commit bank fraud. He pled guilty to the charges on May 23, 2022.

“Shillin then married while in custody, but an attempt to invoke spousal privilege was denied.”

Fired earlier from Raymond James, Shillin resigned from Alliance Global Partners in October 2020 while under investigation for creating and altering fraudulent documents and emails, and 37 complaints were filed against him in less than two years since (16 pending and 21 resolved according to FINRA).

The court forbade Shillin from traveling outside of Wisconsin, yet he vacationed on the island of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, violating the terms of his pre-trial release. He was remanded into custody upon his return in April 2022.

Shillin then married while in custody, but an attempt to invoke spousal privilege was denied, according to local paper Leader-Telegram.

He worked as a financial advisor with clients throughout Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley and pled guilty to a three-part wire fraud scheme in which he:

‘Pretty Horrifying Crime’

At sentencing, Chief U.S. District Judge James Peterson emphasized the need to impose a sentence for his “pretty horrifying crime” that reflected the suffering Shillin inflicted on his victims. Based on the record at sentencing, Peterson called Shillin “resolutely dishonest” and a “very selfish person.”  

He rejected Shillin’s argument that Shillin lied in a misguided attempt to make his clients feel good but instead stated that he “lied to make [himself] feel good.” Peterson noted that the victims should not feel bad about being defrauded because they were defrauded by a “highly skilled manipulator” who had “vast experience in deceit.”

The FBI, Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Eau Claire and Altoona Police Departments participated in the investigation.

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