A former advisor with Equitable and Edward Jones has been sentenced to seven years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding an elderly client out of nearly $10 million. Ejiroghene O. Okuma, of Smyrna, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in March, and U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said the prison term should send a clear message to fiduciaries who exploit vulnerable citizens. Okuma, who registered with the industry in 2010 at Edward Jones and moved to Equitable in 2023, first gained access to the victim's brokerage account in 2016 and began embezzling in 2022 after being chosen to administer the estate of the victim's sister, ultimately transferring about $9 million of the victim's funds into a fraudulent account by the end of February 2023. He used the money to buy a $5.2 million home in Vinings, Georgia, a $1.4 million beach club membership, and to make a $340,000 donation to his church. The sentence includes three years of supervised release, with restitution to be decided later, and Okuma will pay $13 million in disgorgement and penalties after settling SEC charges; FINRA barred him last December and Equitable fired him in June 2025.
Axa Equitable Holdings IncA former Equitable advisor was sentenced for defrauding an elderly client of nearly $10M, a legal/reputational hit tied to the firm.
