Business & Tech
Geneva Investment Firm Founder Charged with Stealing from Clients to Pay for Yacht, Luxury Cars
He is accused of stealing client funds to trade his own stock and collect the cash.
The founding member of a Geneva investment firm was charged last week for using client funds to trade his own stocks and using the money to purchase a yacht and luxury vehicle for himself, according to a federal indictment.
Stephen C. Browere, the founder and principal of Geneva-based Stephens Capital Management Inc., is accused of promising lucrative and guaranteed returns to persuade his clients to purchase $1.66 million in promissory notes in Douglas Capital Corp., which is located in Lisle, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois. Browere had a relative who was the president of Douglas Capital.
Browere, 56, of Geneva also had access to Douglas Capital’s lines of credit and ran its day-to-day operations, according to the eight-count indictment returned last week in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
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“Instead of investing the funds as promised to clients in the promissory notes, Browere used the money to perform trades in his own investment portfolio and to cover personal expenses, including the purchase of a yacht and luxury vehicle,” the indictment states. Browere is charged with eight counts of mail fraud.
Browere is also accused of obtaining the power of attorney on behalf of an elderly client who was infirm and suffering from dementia, according to the indictment.
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The power of attorney gave Browere access to the client’s cash and property, which were valued at $2.1 million. Browere allegedly misappropriated some of this money to purchase four vacant lots in Lisle and to make interest payments to other clients, the indictment states. After the client died, Browere maintained control over the estate. The scheme began in no later than 2007 and continued until about Febrary 2014.
It seeks forfeiture of the four vacant lots in Lisle, as well as properties in Geneva and elsewhere in Lisle.An arraignment hearing will be scheduled by the court at a later date.
Each count of mail fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000.00 fine and mandatory restitution.
Read the full press release on the U.S. State’s Attorney’s Office press release.
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