A former Raymond James & Associates broker and investments vice president has been sentenced to five years in prison for stealing $933,500 from two elderly clients, most of it misappropriated from a World War II veteran, according to court documents.
Frederick M. Stow, 66, of Franklin, Tennessee, was charged in June 2020 with securities fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He pleaded guilty in August.
Stow was registered with Raymond James from 2013 to 2019, according to his report on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's BrokerCheck website. The company terminated him on May 29, 2019, for "misappropriating funds from customer accounts," according to a disclosure on his report.
Raymond James did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
FINRA barred Stow on Oct. 18, 2019, after he failed to respond to its request for information, effective Jan. 21, 2020, according to BrokerCheck. He is no longer registered as a broker or RIA, his regulatory reports show.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil action against Stow on June 11, 2020, in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, alleging he misappropriated nearly $1 million from two older clients' brokerage funds, violating the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
In sentencing Stow on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger "issued a stern rebuke of those in a position of trust who manage investments for others, especially the elderly, and choose to steal from them," Mary Jane Stewart, acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, said Friday.
Trauger also ordered a forfeiture money judgment of $933,500, according to Stewart.