© 2017 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden
(June 9) – An investment adviser and certified financial planner in The Woodlands who used $1.9 million of client money for personal matters has pleaded guilty to mail fraud in federal court in Beaumont.
Lawrence Allen deShetler admitted this week that he fraudulently obtained $1.9 million from five clients of his private advisory firm DeShetler & Company. He faces up to 20 years in prison. No sentencing date has been set.
The Texas State Securities Board also has suspended his certification to be an investment adviser in the state.
The TSSB, which investigated deShetler for more than 18 months, claims that deShetler started diverting client investments in 2014 to bank accounts in which he had sole access. He promised them higher returns. Instead, he used the money to pay restaurant bills, country club fees, clothing, and pool cleaning services.
The U.S. Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of Texas became involved in the case last fall when it indicted deShetler, who is 63, on mail fraud charges. DeShetler officially entered his plea of guilty June 8.
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