Forest Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud, Money Laundering

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MichaelTodd Crosswhite Faces Possible 20 Year Prison Term
LYNCHBURG, VA—A former financial advisorfrom Forest, Virginia pleaded this morning in the United States District Courtfor the Western District of Virginia in Lynchburg to charges of wire fraud andmoney laundering.
Michael Todd Crosswhite, 42, waived hisright to be indicted and pleaded guilty this morning to a two-count informationcharging him with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.The defendant also agreed to pay restitution to his victims in the amount of$943,684.
“Mr. Crosswhite stole over $1,000,000from customers who trusted him with their money,” United States AttorneyTimothy J. Heaphy said today. “His long-running Ponzi scheme defrauded hisclients of hard-earned and long-saved investment funds, which they hadentrusted to him for protection and growth. This United States Attorney’sOffice will vigorously pursue those who defraud individuals in any manner.”
This morning in District Court,Crosswhite admitted that while serving in his role as a financial advisor hedefrauded several victims of approximately $1,000,000 by liquidating theirinvestment accounts without their knowledge. The liquidated assets were thentransferred, again without the consent or knowledge of the victims, to accountsestablished by the defendant. Those funds were then lost in risky investments,used by Crosswhite and/or kited between accounts of various victims.
At sentencing, Crosswhite faces amaximum possible penalty of up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to$250,000 on the wire fraud charge and a maximum possible penalty of up to 10years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000 on the money laundering charge.
The investigation of the case wasconducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service,the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, and the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office.Assistant United States Attorneys Charlene Day and C. Patrick Hogeboom, III areprosecuting the case for the United States.