Ex-JPMorgan adviser charged in $20M fraud

NEW YORK – A former JPMorgan Chase investment adviser was arrested Thursday on charges he stole $20 million from customers and spent the funds on unprofitable trading and other personal expenses.

Michael Oppenheim, 48, took money from at least seven bank clients in a fraud scheme he operated from March 2011 to March 2015, federal prosecutors alleged.

He was arrested Thursday at his Livingston, N.J., home and brought to Manhattan federal court for an initial hearing, authorities said.

Oppenheim worked as a JPMorgan investment adviser from February 2002 through last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a civil complaint. He advised approximately 500 clients who collectively kept roughly $89 million in assets under his management, according to a criminal complaint filed by Manhattan federal prosecutors.

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Diego Rodriguez said Oppenheim allegedly concealed clients’ funds “in a game of hide-and-seek and personally benefited from illegitimately obtained profits.” Read More