JOHN GREGORY SCHMIDT, Formerly of Wells Fargo Dayton OH, Indicted on 128 Counts

JOHN GREGORY SCHMIDT (GREG SCHMIDT, JOHN GREG SCHMIDT) CRD#: 708094, 67 years-old of  Bellbrook, Ohio, who operated Schmidt Investment Strategies in Washington Township, was indicted on 128 felony counts related to securities fraud by the Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office on Thursday, December 27, 2018. The Montgomery County Grand Jury indicted Schmidt on 124 counts of forgery, two counts of theft from an elderly or disabled adult, one count of telecommunications fraud and one count of fraud or deceit by an investment advisor.
Schmidt operated Schmidt Investment Strategies while employed by Wells Fargo Advisors Financial of Dayton, Ohio, since 2006. He is accused of stealing from investment accounts to cover stolen money in other investor's accounts, a Ponzi-like scheme. Prosecutors also say Schmidt created falsified financial statements to cover the missing money to the investors. Schmidt is also accused of selling securities without knowledge or authorization of the investors. According to prosecutors, Schmidt received nearly $250K in commission for those transactions.
The prosecutors said that the Ohio Department of Insurance noticed irregularities in Schmidt's activities and opened an investigation. For years, according to the prosecutor, Schmidt defrauded investors, many of them elderly or with dementia, and had to keep stealing from more investors in order to cover for the thefts from the other investors.
Schmidt is set to make his first court appearance on January 10, 2019.
FINRA permanently barred JOHN GREGORY SCHMIDT on November 29, 2017, from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with a broker-dealer firm. According to Schmidt’s BrokerCheck report, Schmidt failed to request termination of his suspension within three months of the date of the Notice of Suspension; therefore, he was automatically barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. There were 8 Disclosures on Schmidt’s report, 5 were “Customer Disputes.” One of those Disputes was settled for $1,5000,000 following allegations that Schmidt “had absconded with monies belonging to client.”
JOHN GREGORY SCHMIDT had 37 years of experience in the securities industry and had been listed with 9 firms, the most recent listed below:
12/05/2006 - 11/07/2017  WELLS FARGO ADVISORS FINANCIAL NETWORK LLC - DAYTON, OH
If you or an elderly loved one were clients of JOHN GREGORY SCHMIDT, formerly with WELLS FARGO ADVISORS FINANCIAL NETWORK LLC of DAYTON, OHIO, and you experienced losses due to his actions or recommendations, or due to the alleged Ponzi-like scheme involving Schmidt Investment Strategies, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer at no cost regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses through a FINRA arbitration at:  888-760-6552.
Soreide Law Group represents clients nationwide before FINRA and we operate on a contingency fee basis—no fee if no recovery.