The pre-trial probation granted to a former Raymond James Financial Services and Alliance Global Partners broker who was charged by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission with defrauding his clients has been revoked after he violated the terms of the probation by allegedly taking an unauthorized trip.
Arguments were heard on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin after the probation office petitioned for revocation of the pretrial release of Michael Francis Shillin after it was learned he traveled to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Shillin took the trip despite his request to travel there having been denied by the court and Justice Department before he went.
The probation office's request for Shillin to be detained was granted by the court Thursday and Shillin was detained pending his trial and sentencing, according to court documents.
Raymond James, AGP and Kathleen Quinn, the attorney representing Shillin, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
9 Counts of Wire Fraud
A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin returned an indictment against Shillin in October. The Justice Department charged him with nine counts of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud.
The indictment alleged that Shillin, the owner of financial advisory firm Shillin Wealth Management, engaged in a scheme to defraud clients by making misrepresentations to them.
Shillin allegedly told his clients that he bought nonpublic stock of well-known companies on their behalf and that they made hundreds of thousands of dollars on those investments when Shillin had actually not purchased the stocks at all, according to the indictment.
The indictment further alleged that Shillin convinced several clients to buy insurance policies by misrepresenting the cost of the policies and the benefits, and that Shillin received commission payments on some of those policies. He also allegedly provided clients with fraudulent tax documents to make them appear eligible for tax breaks to which they weren't entitled.
The indictment also charged Shillin with defrauding a bank by obtaining two loans totaling $462,000 on behalf of his company, SWM, by using fraudulent collateral. The indictment alleged that he provided an account statement showing that SWM owned an account with a balance of over $1.2 million, when actually it was a client who owned and controlled the account.
If convicted, Shillin faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each wire fraud charge and a maximum penalty of 30 years on the bank fraud charge, according to the Justice Department.
5 Days in the Caribbean
On Nov. 4, Shillin was released on conditions of pretrial supervision, according to court documents. On Jan. 18, a condition was added: that he shall not travel outside of the Western District of Wisconsin, except to take day trips to visit relatives and lawyers anywhere in the state, without seeking prior approval from pretrial services.
