An Indiana-based investment adviser will spend four years in prison after pleading guilty to embezzling $4.6 million from a client, according to the Justice Department.

Christopher Turean was convicted in federal court after pleading guilty to fraud and filing false tax refund claims. From 2012 to 2022, he worked at Valeo Financial Advisors, according to his IAPD profile, which is based in Carmel, Ind.

According to the Justice Department and a plea agreement filed last November in Indiana federal court, in November 2015 an unidentified individual (called 'Victim 1' in the proceeding) became one of Turean's clients. The customer places his personal funds in an account managed by Valeo and held by Fidelity.

Initially, Turean invested their money “judiciously”, often in real estate. But in July 2019, Turean formed a company called “SCNT LLC” and set up a bank account for the company at JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Shortly thereafter, Turean began transferring money from Victim 1's account to the SCNT account. After doing so, Turean began using the money for his expenses and debts, including gambling and paying off a home equity loan.

In one instance, Turean transferred $87,500 from the customer's account to the SCNT account in September 2020. The next day, Turean applied nearly $54,000 of that money toward the balance of a home equity line of credit stemming from Turean's gambling expenses.

“Throughout the scheme to defraud, the defendant did not invest any of the money in the SCNT account for Victim 1 in real estate or anything else, despite Victim 1's belief that the money would be invested by the defendant,” it said. in the plea agreement.

Turean also kept Valeo in the dark about what he was doing. At multiple points, he described the investment in a database as “SCNT Hotel LLC,” “SCNT LLC Multi Family,” and “SCNT Real Estate Fund.”

In addition, Turean failed to report the stolen income on his taxes, resulting in false returns that hid approximately $1,745,246 in taxes owed, according to the Department of Justice.

“(Turean) not only broke the law, but he also betrayed the trust and confidence of his investors who relied on him to act in their best interest,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Justin Campbell said in a statement. for punishment.