After greater than two years on the run, a former funding firm CEO and TV monetary analyst was arrested final weekend and can face federal fraud fees in Los Angeles.
James Arthur McDonald Jr. lied about issues together with his Harvard schooling and the way he spent thousands and thousands of {dollars} raised from purchasers, in keeping with charging paperwork filed final 12 months in U.S. District Court docket.
McDonald, who continuously appeared as a visitor analyst on CNBC, misappropriated not less than $675,000 from buyers, together with almost $175,000 spent at a Porsche dealership, court docket paperwork mentioned.
McDonald’s lawyer didn’t reply to a request for remark.
McDonald misplaced between $30 million and $40 million after taking a dangerous quick place that wager towards the U.S. financial system within the wake of the 2020 presidential election, prosecutors mentioned.
To pay his purchasers again and keep away from disclosing the losses, McDonald raised more cash by promoting fairness in his firm and disguising how the proceeds could be used, the indictment says.
Court docket paperwork present that McDonald additionally misled individuals about his schooling. Regardless of making common references to his economics diploma from Harvard College, McDonald is a graduate of the Harvard Extension College, an open-enrollment establishment.
Investigators discovered he took just one class associated to economics whereas finding out there.
McDonald has been thought-about a fugitive since November 2021, when he failed to seem earlier than the U.S. Securities and Change Fee to face allegations that he defrauded buyers, a launch from the U.S. legal professional’s workplace mentioned.
Based on a felony grievance, McDonald advised a former romantic accomplice and enterprise affiliate that he was going to “vanish” after the SEC subpoenaed him for testimony. Authorities positioned and arrested him this month at a residence in Port Orchard, Wash.
McDonald, former CEO of Hercules Investments LLC and Index Technique Advisors, appeared in court docket June 17 and waived his proper to a detention listening to within the Western District of Washington. He stays jailed pending his switch to Los Angeles.
