A Georgia financial adviser who stole nearly $10 million from a single elderly client, first by inventing expenses for the client’s late sister’s estate and then by quietly draining the client’s brokerage accounts, has been sentenced to seven years and four months in federal prison. Ejiroghene O. Okuma, 44, of Smyrna, was sentenced on Sept. 11 after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud in March, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said. He will serve three years of supervised release after prison, and restitution will be decided at a hearing to be scheduled later.
An adviser with complete access to the account
According to federal prosecutors in Atlanta, Okuma was an investment adviser who received complete access to the elderly client’s brokerage account in 2016. Six years later, in February 2022, he was appointed to administer the estate of the client’s sister.
The following month, prosecutors said, Okuma began embezzling by falsely telling the client that the sister’s estate needed money. Trusting him, the client allowed Okuma to move $500,000 from a brokerage account to a bank account supposedly held for the estate. Without the client’s knowledge, Okuma then sent those funds to a bank account in the name of his wife’s company.
In June 2022, he took roughly $400,000 more. That money came from two sources: payments he had tricked the client into making as part of the estate’s administration, and the proceeds from the sale of the sister’s home. By the time the estate-related lies had run their course, prosecutors said, Okuma had taken nearly $1 million.
Access is not the same as oversight. An adviser who can move money freely leaves a family with one job: checking statements directly and knowing which calls to make the moment something looks wrong, a sequence spelled out in the first-hour recovery plan in The Senior Fraud Defense & First-Hour Recovery Kit.
About $9 million moved in a single month
The larger theft came next. In February 2023, Okuma opened an unauthorized brokerage account in the name of a revocable trust involving the client. The same day, he opened a bank account in his own name and added himself as a custodian on an existing bank account in the client’s name, which gave him the power to withdraw money without the client’s approval.
Within days he began draining the client’s brokerage accounts. By the end of February 2023, prosecutors said, Okuma had transferred approximately $9 million into the fraudulently opened brokerage account, again without the client’s knowledge.
Between August 2023 and March 2025, he moved that money to other accounts he controlled and spent it. According to the Justice Department, the purchases included a $5.2 million residence in Vinings, Georgia, and a beach club membership of about $1.4 million. He also donated roughly $340,000 to his church.
What prosecutors and the FBI said at sentencing
“Under the guise of acting as a financial adviser, Okuma abused the trust placed in him by an elderly client,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said. “His sentence 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.”
Marlo Graham, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta, said Okuma “used his access and authority to systematically drain his victim’s accounts while funneling the stolen money into lavish purchases and other personal expenses.” The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samir Kaushal and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla prosecuted it.
Okuma pleaded guilty on March 17, 2026, and the conviction rests on that single wire fraud count. Wire fraud carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison, and judges set the actual term after considering the federal Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, including the size of the loss.
Because restitution has not yet been set, the amount the court will order Okuma to repay, and how much of it can realistically be collected from the house, the club membership and other assets, remains open.
Guardrails for older investors who hand over account access
The case shows how much damage one trusted person can do when the same individual controls both the money and the paperwork. Okuma was the client’s adviser and, at the same time, the administrator of a relative’s estate, a combination that let him justify transfers with stories the client had little reason to question.
Several practical safeguards address the weak points prosecutors described. Account statements and trade confirmations should go directly from the brokerage firm or bank to the account owner, or to a second family member, rather than being summarized by the adviser. Brokerage firms are required to ask customers for a trusted contact person, and naming one gives the firm someone to call if it notices unusual activity. Any new account opened in the name of a trust, or any new custodian added to an existing bank account, deserves a direct call to the institution to confirm who requested it.
Families can also watch for quieter changes. A sudden shift in how statements arrive, a new online login the account owner did not set up, or an adviser who discourages contact with the firm’s home office are all worth a closer look. None of these steps require accusing anyone; they simply make it harder for a single person to move money unseen.
Requests for large sums tied to an estate should come with documentation, such as a court filing, an invoice or a letter from the estate’s attorney, not simply an adviser’s word. Investors can also look up an adviser’s registration and disciplinary history through the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. The Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative offers resources for older people and families who suspect financial exploitation.
When the person managing the money is the problem
Discovering that a longtime adviser has been moving funds leaves a family with statements to gather, institutions to alert and a timeline to reconstruct, often while the older relative is embarrassed or reluctant to talk about it.
The Senior Fraud Defense & First-Hour Recovery Kit includes the first-hour recovery plan and a fraud evidence and report log, along with the free credit-freeze steps, so the first calls to banks and brokerages are made in order and each transfer is documented for investigators.
Put a plan in place with The Senior Fraud Defense & First-Hour Recovery Kit.
This article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed against the linked official sources.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
