Former Investment Advisor Indicted Accused of Stealing Client’s Retirement Accounts

PHOENIX, Arizona, May 29 -- Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich issued the following news release:

Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a State Grand Jury indicted Howard M. Price III, a former investment adviser, for allegedly stealing $475,000 from his client's retirement accounts. Price, 44, is charged with one count of Fraudulent Schemes & Artifices and three counts of Theft.

The Arizona Corporation Commission investigated this case. Price has not been registered to sell securities or licensed to provide investment advice in Arizona since 2012. From 2013 to 2017, Price allegedly convinced three clients to roll over their IRA retirement money to his firm, Howard Price Wealth Management, with the promise of guaranteed returns. The State alleges that once Price gained control of the victims' money, he misused his clients' retirement funds to make purchases at clubs, bars, and restaurants in Scottsdale and Arcadia.

Assistant Attorney General Adam J Schwartz is prosecuting this case.

All defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.

For a copy of the indictment, CLICK HERE (https://www.azag.gov/sites/default/files/sites/all/docs/press-release/press-release-files/2018_files/Price_Indictment.pdf).