EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – An El Paso man is facing multiple charges after he allegedly stole over $220,000 from a client’s account while he was working as a financial advisor at a company from 2018 to 2021, according to court documents obtained by KTSM.
According to court documents, Jesus Rodriguez is facing three counts of wire fraud, one count of engaging in a monetary transaction over $10,000 using criminally derived proceeds, one count of identity theft and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Rodriguez was employed as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley in El Paso and prior to Nov. 2018, he convinced an acquaintance to open a line of credit account with the company.
Court documents state that Rodriguez created false communications and documents impersonating this client and submitted them to the company’s personnel including the following:
On or about Dec. 24, 2018, Rodriguez completed a “Verbal Wire Processing Form” falsely claiming that the client had verbally authorized the transfer of $48,575.36. The company initiated the wire transfer through the agent bank of Citibank to an account at a separate financial institution which belonged to a family member of Rodriguez.
On or about Dec. 26, 2018, Rodriguez emailed his company’s email account from a fictious Gmail account he created impersonating the client, where he included a fake letter in which the client authorized the transfer of $125,000. The company initiated the wire transfer through the agent bank of Citibank to an account at a separate financial institution owned by a seller of a Lamborghini. Rodriguez used the money to purchase the vehicle for himself.
On or about Jan. 18, 2018, Rodriguez sent the company personnel another fake letter in which the client authorized the transfer of $56,500. The company initiated the wire transfer through the agent bank of Citibank to an account at a separate financial institution which belonged to a family member of Rodriguez.
Additionally, the FBI arrested Rodriguez Friday, Jan. 12. He is currently in the El Paso County Detention Center held without bond, and his arraignment is scheduled for Friday morning, Jan. 19.
Read: Read More