Verona Financial Adviser Convicted Of Stealing More Than $300K From Elderly Client

VERONA, NJ — A Verona man has been convicted of stealing more than $300,000 from an elderly client whose financial affairs he was entrusted to manage, according to New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport.

A jury found John Boston, 50, guilty of second-degree theft and second-degree theft by failure to make required disposition following a six-day trial in Essex County Superior Court.

The case was investigated by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit after a referral from the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman.

Prosecutors said Boston, while working as a registered financial adviser, entered into an agreement to manage the finances of a woman who had inherited substantial assets. In 2017, he obtained a durable financial power of attorney from the then-90-year-old client.

Evidence showed that Boston diverted more than $300,000 through ATM withdrawals, bank transfers, and other transactions, depleting the victim’s accounts in less than two years.

Prosecutors also alleged that he failed to meet the victim’s financial obligations, neglected her care, and later redirected her Social Security benefits for personal use.

Boston is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21 and faces up to 10 years in state prison.