A former advisor with Equitable and Edward Jones will spend more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding an elderly client out of nearly $10 million.
According to the Justice Department, Smyrna, Ga.-based Ejiroghene O. Okuma pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in March of this year.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said Okuma “abused the trust placed in him by an elderly client” while acting as an advisor, and stressed the prison term “should send a clear message to fiduciaries who may be tempted to steal: we will seek lengthy prison sentences to punish those who exploit vulnerable citizens to line their own pockets.”
According to SEC and FINRA records, Okuma registered with the industry in 2010 at Edward Jones and left the firm to join Equitable in 2023 (both times based in Atlanta). Okuma first gained access to the victim’s brokerage account in 2016, during his tenure at Edward Jones. According to court documents, the victim was born in 1944 and resided in Carrollton, Ga.
In February 2022, Okuma was picked to administer the estate of the unnamed victim’s sister, but within a month, Okuma began embezzling money from the victim, claiming the estate needed funds. The client transferred $500,000 from a brokerage account to a bank account supposedly held by the estate.
However, Okuma then transferred those funds into a bank account in his wife’s company’s name. In June 2022, Okuma stole about $400,000 by running the same trick as before and also stealing proceeds from the sale of the sister’s residence.
After he’d stolen about $1 million, Okuma set up an unauthorized brokerage account in the name of a revocable trust involving the client, while simultaneously opening a bank account in his own name and adding himself as a custodian to an already-existing bank account of the client’s, meaning he could take out funds without the victim’s approval.
Soon after, Okuma began withdrawing money from the victim’s brokerage accounts; by the end of February 2023, he’d transferred about $9 million of the victim’s funds into the fraudulent account without the victim’s knowledge.
Over the next several years, Okuma moved the money into other accounts he ran, using the funds to purchase a $5.2 million home in Vinings, Ga., a $1.4 million beach club membership, and to make a $340,000 donation to his church, among other things.
According to court documents, by the end of 2024, the victim and his wife attempted to question Okuma about their finances, but Okuma was “evasive and refused to answer.” The victim contacted Equitable Advisors and learned that he didn’t have any accounts with the firm. By April 2025, they’d learned the truth of the scheme.
Representatives from Equitable and Edward Jones did not return requests for comment prior to publication.
Last week, a federal judge sentenced Okuma to a prison term of seven years and four months in prison, with three years of supervised release. Restitution will be decided later, according to the DOJ.
Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges with Okuma, after FINRA had already barred him last December, citing the investigation. Equitable also fired him in June 2025, accusing him of misappropriating funds.
Okuma agreed to be permanently enjoined from violating the charged provisions and will pay $13 million in disgorgement and penalties.