Star adviser Breard pleads guilty to fraud

A Kirkland, Wash., investment adviser once associated with ING Financial Partners Inc. pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal mail fraud charge. Rhonda Breard, the manager and chief executive officer of Breard & Associates Wealth Management, was accused of stealing more than $9 million from at least 38 of her clients. In pleading guilty to the single charge, Ms. Breard also agreed to surrender three homes and more than two dozen vehicles and boats. The Breard scandal has come as something of a shock to local residents. Mr. Breard's seminars and infomercials have made her a familiar face to many in the Seattle area. Indeed, her theft of clients' funds only came to light during a surprise ING audit of her Kirkland office earlier this year. But federal prosecutors say Ms. Breard's scam actually commenced in 2004. That's when she began recommending that some of her established clients liquidate one or more of their existing investments and then transfer the funds into another financial product she was hawking. She also asked them to make their checks out to her investment advisory firm, court documents claim. Instead of using the proceeds to purchase the new investments, she “converted these funds to her own use and benefit,” federal prosecutors said. Authorities say she used the money to purchase several plots of land as well as dozens of cars, trucks and other vehicles. Ms. Breard concealed the scheme by issuing knowingly false account statements to her customers, according to the court filings, which revealed that she had over 100 investment clients. Last month, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. barred her permanently from the securities industry for securities fraud. The adviser consented to Finra's findings without admitting or denying the self-regulator's charges. Ms. Breard had bee a licensed broker for the U.S. subsidiary of ING, and was authorized to sell securities under the firm's name in nine states. ING pulled her brokerage license after the audit uncovered the fraud. Despite today's plea, Ms. Breard could still face considerable time in court. She's due to be sentenced on July 9. In addition, she is subject to multiple civil suits in Washington state arising from the fraud.