United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Scott Mason, a 66-year-old investment adviser from Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 97 months in prison for defrauding clients of more than $23 million. Mason will also serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution totaling $24,998,596.46 to his victims and $2,353,355 to the IRS.
Mason operated through his firm Rubicon Wealth Management LLC and orchestrated two fraudulent schemes. In January, he was charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, and filing false tax returns. He pleaded guilty to all charges.
Court documents revealed that Mason transferred over $17 million from 13 clients into an entity he controlled. The funds were used for personal expenses such as international travel and country club dues. He also purchased an ownership stake in a miniature golf course at the Jersey Shore.
Mason targeted clients who trusted him implicitly, including friends and family members. He often liquidated their securities holdings without proper authorization or forged their signatures on distribution forms. He falsely claimed the funds were being invested in diversified short-term bonds.
A portion of the misappropriated funds was used to partially repay another client from whom Mason had stolen millions since 2007. Despite these repayments, he still stole a net total of over $6 million from this client.
Additionally, Mason failed to report any of his fraudulent gains on his tax returns, resulting in a tax loss of approximately $3.225 million.
Wayne A. Jacobs of FBI Philadelphia stated: “Frauds like the one Mr. Mason perpetrated on his clients damage the trust and integrity of our financial systems.” Yury Kruty from IRS-Criminal Investigation added: “Today’s sentencing shows how seriously the courts take federal tax crimes.”
The case was investigated by both the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Rice.
