A 34-year-old Jacksonville man, Jared Dean Eakes has pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud, including wire fraud and bank fraud. Eakes, who successfully deceived investment advisors by masquerading as a legitimate advisor, now faces the prospect of up to 50 years behind bars, although a sentencing date has not yet been scheduled, as announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
According to the details of the plea agreement as seen in the Justice Department's statement, Eakes engaged in a calculated scheme from January 2019 to February 2020, where he deceitfully acquired control of client assets from investment advisors looking to sell their practices, he then set about converting approximately $2,737,462 of investor funds for his own use — the haul was stoked through withdrawals in cash, the settlement of personal expenses, the transfer of funds to a casino in Las Vegas and unauthorized options trading in his personal brokerage account.
In a separate but equally deceitful strand of his fraudulent activities and amid the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, Eakes took advantage of the federal Paycheck Protection Program, securing roughly $4,752,270 through four separate loans intended to provide relief to small businesses, as laid out by the CARES Act passed in March 2020. Businesses eligible for the PPP were mandated to allocate the loaned funds towards payroll costs and other essential operating expenses to qualify for loan forgiveness.
However, the plea agreement disclosed that Eakes submitted Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications containing false statements and fabricated documents, including details about employees and payroll that did not exist. Once the loans were approved, Eakes used the funds for options trading and cash withdrawals, rather than for the intended purpose of supporting small businesses during the pandemic, thereby misusing federal emergency relief for personal benefit.
Eakes has been ordered to forfeit both the misappropriated investor funds and the fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan proceeds, amounting to $7,489,732.20. He is also required to pay full restitution to the victims. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General, with Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Mesrobian leading the prosecution.
