Hingham Man Sent Behind Bars For Defrauding Friends

HINGHAM, MA — A Hingham man will spend time behind bars for defrauding his neighbors and acquaintances of approximately $437,000.

Stephen S. Eubanks, 48, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $437,609 in restitution to his victims. In April 2017, Eubanks pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

In February 2010, Eubanks opened Eubiquity Capital LLC, a hedge fund that took in over $700,000 in investor funds by 2016. Eubanks was previously a registered broker with several large brokerage firms, but was terminated in the wake of customer complaints and other disciplinary issues. In 2013 and 2014, Eubanks nonetheless presented himself to acquaintances as a financial advisor running a hedge fund affiliated with Goldman Sachs, TD Ameritrade, UBS Bank and Fidelity Investments. One of the acquaintances invested $125,000 with Eubanks, while the other invested $20,000. In 2013, a Florida resident invested $50,000 with Eubanks.

Eubanks, who defrauded over 20 people, invested some of his clients’ funds, but used a significant portion for personal expenses. Moreover, when asked for account statements summarizing the fund’s performance, Eubanks fabricated account statements or used account statements from unrelated accounts to deceive his clients into believing that their money had earned a healthy return. In some instances, Eubanks ran the fund as a Ponzi scheme, using money deposited with him by newer investors to pay returns to earlier investors.

Information from the U.S. Attorney's office was used in this article.

Image via Shutterstock