Fake Advisor Gets 3 Years in Prison for Investment Scam
A North Carolina man will spend several years in prison after stealing from at least 64 investors when he was still in his teens and early twenties.
A Maryland federal judge sentenced 25-year-old Hunter Haithcock to 3 1/2 years of incarceration after he pleaded guilty to counts of wire and investment advisor fraud last fall.
According to the court, between September 2019 and October 2022, Haithcock stole at least $655,498 from his victims. Haithcock, who was based in North Carolina, lied to victims, claiming he worked as a registered investment advisor. Though the Justice Department indictment doesn’t name the company, a previously filed cease-and-desist order against Haithcock notes that he claimed to be an advisor at TD Ameritrade.
In fact, Haithcock was not registered and did not work at the brokerage firm, but used the name and other personal information of an advisor (including the advisor’s CRD number) to interact with clients (the individual is identified only as M.W. in the Justice Department indictment).
During the scheme, Haithcock also used the moniker “Hunter Elliot” in dealing with clients (a broker by the same name is registered with TD Ameritrade). According to the Justice Department, Haithcock would find victims in several ways, including by word-of-mouth referrals and through a local church. In dealing with victims, he would promise returns of 100% to 200% of their investments.
After taking investors’ money, Haithcock would concoct fake reports showing their purported portfolio gains, but he stole victims’ funds instead of investing them. In doing so, Haithcock used the funds for himself, including paying credit card bills, meals, entertainment, car payments and travel expenses, as well as trading cryptocurrency.
Haithcock claimed the investors’ principal was protected regardless of market volatility, leading some victims to invest tens of thousands of dollars, while he also provided victims with weekly or bi-weekly “statement reports” showing each investor’s portfolio values and purported stock trades Haithcock made on their behalf (which were also made up).
Eventually, investors began pressing Haithcock about their returns, and some requested their principal back, while Haithcock fabricated reasons he couldn’t do so. He eventually used a small portion of the funds he received to repay some investors, but most got nothing. Haithcock then stopped returning their calls and text messages altogether.
In September 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Haithcock for the same conduct, alleging he committed offering fraud affecting dozens of retail investors. As part of the Justice Department plea agreement, Haithcock also agreed to two years of supervised release following his prison sentence, and will pay $655,498.93 in restitution and forfeiture.
