Former President of Investment Services Company Indicted On Charges That He Stole Over $1 Million from Clients

            WASHINGTON – Brian J. Ourand, 54, the former president of a company that provides financial services and investment advice, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he embezzled more than $1 million from his clients’ bank and credit card accounts.

            The indictment was announced today by U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            Ourand, formerly of Washington, D.C. and Chicago, was arrested on Dec. 8, 2015, by the FBI in Chicago. He made his first appearance later that day in the U.S. District Court for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and was released pending further proceedings.  The indictment, which was unsealed today, was returned on Dec. 3, 2015, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where Ourand is to appear on Dec. 21, 2015.

            The indictment charges Ourand with two counts of mail fraud, nine counts of wire fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and four counts of first-degree theft. It also includes a forfeiture allegation seeking all proceeds from the crimes.

            According to the indictment, Ourand began working for the Washington D.C.-based financial services company in 1986, and later became a vice president and eventually president of the firm. The company terminated his employment in August of 2011.

            As alleged in the indictment, Ourand and the company provided advisory and financial management services to high net-worth individuals, most of whom were current and former professional athletes. Among the services they provided were paying invoices and bills, coordinating tax preparation, and providing estate planning on behalf of individual clients. The charges involve Ourand’s activities involving four clients, all of whom were current or former professional athletes. According to the indictment, beginning as early as May of 2003, and continuing through July of 2011, Ourand schemed to embezzle money from these clients.

            The indictment alleges that Ourand diverted at least $1 million in total funds from the clients’ bank accounts and credit card accounts to himself and for the benefit of those close to him. It also alleges that Ourand sought to conceal his embezzlement by generating false documentation in support of purported business-related and other authorized expenses.

            Among other things, the indictment alleges, Ourand used the stolen money to pay for hotel stays, meals at restaurants, retail purchases, gym memberships, and other expenses.

            The Securities and Exchange Commission has a separate case pending against Ourand that is awaiting administrative proceedings. The SEC charged Ourand with fraud.

            Charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

            In announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Phillips and Assistant Director in Charge Abbate commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who are working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Arvind K. Lal, Chief of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section; Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Lowell, also of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section; Paralegal Specialist Tasha Harris; Legal Assistant Angela Lawrence, and former Paralegal Specialist Heather Sales. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Last, who is prosecuting the case.