Ex-Morgan Stanley Executive is Sentenced in Multimillion-Dollar Fraud That Targeted Widow

Gregory Walsh, a former Morgan Stanley (MS) Assistant Vice President, is sentenced to two years in prison and three years’ supervised release. Last year, Walsh pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud that involved defrauding a firm client of $4.8M.

Court documents state that in 2011 Walsh and his brother, ex-Bank of Oswego VP Geoffrey Walsh, convinced a Morgan Stanley client who was newly widowe, to lend Geoffrey over $1.1M to buy three condos in Palm Springs that would be put in her name and then sold. Instead, Geoffrey made his business the title owner of the properties and did not give the widow the documentation for the title or loan. He then sold two of the properties without her consent or knowledge and used the money for his own expenses instead of giving her the funds. When Gregory Walsh discovered what his brother had done, he did not tell his client.

In 2013, the brothers sought $2M from her for a real estate development project. Gregory did not tell the widow that his brother was involved when she asked. He then withdrew funds from her Morgan Stanley account without her consent or knowledge. In 2013, $1.7M of that money was used to pay off a credit line at Bank of Oswego for Geoffrey, who spent the rest of her funds that had been withdrawn.

Gregory also made two other transactions from his client’s Morgan Stanley account that were supposedly for her, including issuing $100,000 to his brother’s friend and $2M to invest in a cannabis company. While the client had spoken with Geoffrey about the latter investment she never told him to go ahead with it. The company later gave her back the money after talking to the FBI. Meantime, Gregory made more than $18K in commissions from these transactions.

This month, Geoffrey, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to make false bank records, and wire fraud was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years’ supervised release.

At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LTD LLP, we are her to help investors in trying to recoup their investment funds that were lost due to securities fraud, negligence, recklessness, or carelessness. Contact our investor fraud law firm today.

Former Morgan Stanley Exec Sentenced In Fraud, Advisor News, February 6, 2018

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