Gregory J. Buchholz of Bridgewater was scheduled to be sentenced on Monday, January 31, 2011, in federal court in Bridgeport.
Buchholz, an independent financial adviser operating at Raymond James Financial Services branch in Southbury, admitted under oath in U.S. District Court to a scheme in which he liquidated his clients' securities and deposited the proceeds into his own bank account.
Allegations include charges stating that the former financial adviser liquidated client annuities and mutual funds while keeping the proceeds. Prosecutors allege that he forged clients' signatures and claimed he was reinvesting their money or fabricated other falsehoods to avoid being discovered.
The former Bridgewater BOF Chairman pleaded guilty in federal court last November in regards to charges for embezzlement of at least $1.37 million from his financial services firm's clients.
Buchholz agreed to waive his rights to indictment and a trial in addition to paying full restitution to the victims in November. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Connecticut said that securities firm Raymond James has agreed to pay its clients' losses and has "already returned a majority of the money."
