A former Fidelity broker in northern Florida Eric J. Stone last week was sentenced by a federal judge in Jacksonville to six years and eight months in federal prison for committing wire fraud and money laundering connected to taking loans from clients, a major breach of conduct in the securities industry.
Stone, 43, was also ordered to pay $2 million in restitution to his victim. He pleaded guilty in March.
“Stone used his position as a financial advisor to befriend the victim, a 75-year-old woman, in order to solicit money from her,” according to a statement last Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “During the span of approximately three years, Stone convinced the victim to make over 600 transactions, sending him money that amounted to over $2 million.”
“To convince the victim to send him money, Stone sent fraudulent emails from purported attorneys, banks, and other internet websites,” according to the statement. “Stone spent most of the victim’s money on foreign gambling websites.”
According to his BrokerCheck profile, Stone was registered with Fidelity Brokerage Services in Jacksonville from 2008 to 2021. He was then “discharged” or fired by Fidelity, according to the BrokerCheck profile, after the firm alleged “loans employee solicited and obtained from clients.”
A spokesperson for Fidelity declined to comment about Stone.
According to Stone’s BrokerCheck profile, a customer is suing Fidelity for $2.7 million in damages, alleging she loaned money to the advisor but has not been repaid in total, with $30,000 in loans to Stone before he was fired.
FINRA prohibits financial advisors and brokers from borrowing money from customers; brokers can pay a steep price when crossing that line.
Last year, a former broker agreed to a nearly two-year suspension and a fine after Finra found he borrowed tens of thousands of dollars from clients without his employer’s knowledge and later provided false information to regulators.
Jacob Lee Harper consented to the sanctions without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, according to a settlement. LPL Financial had previously terminated Harper's registration with the firm.
FINRA said Harper borrowed $20,000 from one client in November 2024 and $30,000 from another client in January 2025. Both were his friends, and neither client was a member of his immediate family nor a lending-related financial institution.
After receiving the loans, Harper falsely certified in a compliance form that he had no borrowing arrangements with clients outside his immediate family or financial institutions, according to Finra. He later repaid $3,000 to one of the clients, but no other principal or interest payments have been made to either client.
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