Federal prosecutors accuse Seku N. Shabazz, a 54-year-old Cleveland businessman also known as Jason Brooks, of misusing employee retirement contributions, defrauding investors and using two people’s identities to obtain a mortgage. Shabazz founded and led Great Lakes Family of Companies, whose businesses offered retirement planning, mortgages and loan servicing. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment last week and was ordered held in federal custody, according to cleveland.com.
The indictment charges Shabazz with one count of embezzlement from an employee benefit plan, seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property and two counts of aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The statutory maximums are five years for the embezzlement count, 20 years for each wire fraud count, 10 years for each monetary transaction count and a mandatory two years for each aggravated identity theft count, to be served consecutively to any other sentence, the DOJ said. Shabazz’s attorney, Darin Thompson, argued in court filings that his client should be released on bond, Cleveland.com reported.
Allegations Center on Stolen Retirement Withholdings
The indictment alleges that Shabazz withheld employee contributions from paychecks but did not deposit them in the company’s 401(k) plan, and that he also failed to make required employer matching contributions. Prosecutors allege he diverted plan money to personal and business expenses, including yacht-club and social-club memberships. The Justice Department says plan fiduciaries can violate federal law by failing to remit employee withholdings to trust accounts or by diverting plan funds. The allegations are described in the indictment as reported by Cleveland.com.
Prosecutors also allege that Shabazz solicited investor loans, saying he needed capital for mortgage lending, and obtained more than $1.2 million through false representations. They say he used much of the money for personal expenses and made some payments to earlier investors and creditors. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ 2024 report put median losses in workplace asset-misappropriation cases at roughly $120,000 nationally, a benchmark against which the alleged investor losses are substantially larger.
Identity Theft Allegations Tied to Foreclosure Notice
In a separate set of allegations, prosecutors say Shabazz used two people’s identities to falsely claim control of their company and ownership of their residence, then obtained a mortgage of more than $220,000 against the property. They allege he used about $97,000 of the proceeds to repay money owed to the 401(k) plan. Prosecutors say the property owners learned of the mortgage after receiving a foreclosure notice.
Court records show that Shabazz, then known legally as Jason Brooks, was convicted in July 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio of conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute, according to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Prosecutors cited that prior federal drug conviction in arguing against bond in the current case.
State Regulators Moved Against Shabazz Months Before Indictment
Ohio securities regulators took action before the federal indictment. The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Securities filed a notice of intent on Dec. 29, 2025, to suspend or revoke Shabazz’s Ohio investment adviser representative license and to revoke the firm license of Great Lakes Retirement Planning LLC, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. The division oversees securities licensing and registration and investigates and enforces alleged violations of the Ohio Securities Act, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce. FINRA records say Shabazz launched Great Lakes Retirement Planning in 2017 before expanding it into a group that included commercial mortgage, residential rental mortgage and loan-servicing businesses.
Industry disclosures indicate that Great Lakes Retirement Planning LLC, a Cleveland-based registered investment advisory firm, managed approximately $5.3 million in client assets before regulatory intervention, according to FINTRX data. The FBI’s Cleveland Field Office and the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Securities jointly conducted the investigation that led to the indictment, the Justice Department said.
401(k) deposit rules and resources for workers
The U.S. Department of Labor says employee contributions generally must be deposited as soon as they can reasonably be separated from company assets and no later than the 15th business day of the following month; that outer limit does not excuse an avoidable delay. The cited guidance addresses participant contributions and does not set out a separate small-plan rule. The Labor Department’s Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database lets people search for lost or forgotten retirement benefits and find information on obtaining them, but it does not determine eligibility or pay benefits.
A separate federal case illustrates other allegations involving retirement-plan contributions: in 2012, prosecutors in the Middle District of Tennessee alleged that former Sommet Group executives failed to forward approximately $44,000 in employer and employee contributions to a 401(k) plan, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. That case involved different defendants and allegations from the Cleveland prosecution.
A Trusted Name in Cleveland Civic Circles
Before the allegations surfaced, Shabazz had built a prominent profile in Cleveland civic and business circles. He served on the Board of Directors for Friends of Breakthrough Public Schools, a nonprofit network supporting charter schools in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, according to materials published by Breakthrough Schools. He was also recognized in local business publications after completing the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses entrepreneurial program at Cuyahoga Community College, credentials he used to build commercial credibility in the city.
“We will not tolerate the actions of those who obtain money from others through fraudulent schemes,” David Toepfer said in a statement. His office said it would aggressively prosecute people who intentionally engage in dishonest practices that rob others of their money, according to cleveland.com.
