Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Scott Mason, 66, of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, was charged by criminal information with wire fraud, securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, and filing false tax returns, arising from two fraudulent schemes that Mason, through his investment advisory firm Rubicon Wealth Management LLC, orchestrated to divert millions of dollars in client funds in order to finance his lavish lifestyle.
The information alleges that between 2016 and 2024, Mason — who had a fiduciary duty to make investment decisions in his clients’ best interests — transferred more than $17 million from 13 Rubicon clients to an entity that he owned and controlled, and ultimately used that money to finance his personal expenditures, including international travel, country club membership dues, credit card bill payments, and the purchase of an ownership stake in a Jersey Shore-based miniature golf course.
The information further alleges that Mason targeted clients with whom he had a longstanding relationship and who trusted him implicitly, including longtime friends and family members, and he often liquidated those clients’ securities holdings in order to finance the fraudulent transfers. Mason allegedly either forged client signatures on distribution authorization forms or omitted all pertinent details of the so-called “investments” when seeking client authorization for the transfers and instead falsely represented that he was investing client funds in diversified short-term bonds.
In reality, as the information alleges, Mason was converting client funds to his own personal use. He also used a portion of the fraud proceeds to repay another Rubicon client from whom Mason had allegedly misappropriated an additional several million dollars dating back to at least 2014, in order to avoid detection by that victim.
Finally, the information alleges that Mason failed to report any of his fraud proceeds on his personal income tax returns, generating a tax loss of approximately $3.225 million.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 80 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $6,760,000.
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Rice. In a parallel matter, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against Mason today.
An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.