A former LPL Financial advisor is facing 10 counts of wire fraud for allegedly orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that resulted in more than $2 million in client losses. The Justice Department announced the indictment of William Tunink, 73, of West Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday.
Prosecutors allege that from February 2022 through May 2025, Tunink raised money from more than 50 investors, offering purportedly exclusive investment opportunities to purchase shares from his business partners. He also falsely stated that he was raising money to repay a widow for an investment from her deceased husband that funded the buyout of one of his partners, according to the Department of Justice.
Tunink couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Tunink, a certified public accountant, had led the Tunink Murray Financial Group. A phone call to a number listed for that business reached a firm called Beacon Tax and Accounting, which appears to have no affiliation with Tunink. "We are no longer Tunink Murray," a receptionist says. "We are Beacon Tax and Accounting, and he does not work here."
Tunink's lawyer, Joseph Herrold, a federal public defender, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The indictment alleges that many of Tunink's purported victims were clients or were referred to him by clients. He allegedly promised them returns of their principal as well as large profits, knowing at the time he "intended to spend the investors' money for unauthorized purposes, rather than in furtherance of the investment and business opportunities he described," according to the indictment.
Tunink allegedly presented victims with fraudulent documents such as silent-partner agreements and promissory notes outlining the purported terms of their investment. Tunink then allegedly collected money from the investors, which the Justice Department says he deposited in his personal checking account.
The Justice Department accuses Tunink of making Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors and of using some of the money he raised for paying down his debts and other personal expenses. He allegedly raised more than $11 million through the scheme, with victim losses exceeding $two million.
LPL, which didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, terminated Tunink in 2025, saying that he failed to disclose loans he received from clients and that he had settled a customer complaint without involving the firm.
Regulatory records indicate that Tunink has been the subject of 24 customer complaints. Finra, the brokerage industry's self-regulatory authority, barred him from the industry in June.
Each count of wire fraud carries a maximum prison term of 20 years in prison, though the typical sentences imposed are far lower. Tunink's trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 30.
Comments