By Kenneth Corbin
A former investment Georgia advisor has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a case involving the alleged theft of nearly $10 million from an elderly client and the estate of one of the client's relatives. Eijroghene Okuma had previously reached a settlement in the matter in a civil case in which he agreed to pay $13 million in disgorgement, interest, and penalties.
In February 2022, Okuma, who at the time was registered as a broker and advisor with Edward Jones, was appointed to administer the estate of his client's recently deceased sister. The next month, the Justice Department says that Okuma told the client that the estate needed funds and transferred $500,000 from the client's brokerage account to a separate bank account and ultimately into an account held in the name of Okuma's wife's company.
In June 2022, prosecutors say that Okuma embezzled another $400,000, and began devising plans to steal millions more, including through an unauthorized Vanguard account that Okuma set up in the name of a revocable trust that Okuma had helped establish in the client's name.
Okuma's lawyer, Warren Carl Lietz III of the law firm Finch McCranie, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on his client's plea agreement or what he is hoping for in a sentence.
In a statement, Edward Jones says that it "has fully cooperated with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission during its investigation. Our focus remains on protecting and serving clients, and on upholding strong standards across the firm."
Three weeks after Okuma reached the monetary settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency barred him from associating with any investment advisory or brokerage firm. Finra, the brokerage sector's self-regulatory organization, had barred him from the industry in December 2025.
Prosecutors say that Okuma ended up stealing nearly $10 million from his client, who was born in 1944, through a variety of means, including impersonating the client, forging the client's signature, and simply transferring funds from the client's accounts to his own.
Prosecutors say that Okuma used some of the money he stole to build a $5.2 million home in the upscale Atlanta suburb of Vinings, Ga. Other expenses the Justice Department cited include a beach club membership, the $1.4 million purchase of a fractional share of a beach house, and donations of about $340,000 to his church.
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2026 06:55 ET (10:55 GMT)
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