Raleigh Investment Adviser Indicted on Charges of Fraud, Money Laundering, and Attempting to Corruptly Influence the Securities and Exhange Commission

RALEIGH – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that STEPHEN CONDON PETERS, 44, of Raleigh, North Carolina, has been charged by a federal grand jury in a sixteen-count Indictment.  The Indictment includes one count of Investment Advisor Fraud; one count of Fraud in the Sale of Unregistered Securities; nine counts of Wire Fraud; four counts of Engaging in Monetary Transactions in Criminally Derived Property; and one count of Corruptly Endeavoring to Influence a Federal Agency.  The indictment also includes a lengthy forfeiture notice.

PETERS is scheduled for an initial appearance on the charges before United States Magistrate Judge Robert T. Numbers, II at 10:00 am on Thursday, December 21, 2017, at the United States District Court in Raleigh. 

If convicted, the maximum punishment for committing Investment Advisor Fraud is not more than 5 years imprisonment.  The maximum penalty for committing Fraud in the Sale of Unregistered Securities is five years imprisonment.  The maximum penalty for Wire Fraud is twenty years imprisonment per count.  The maximum penalty for Engaging in Monetary Transactions in Criminally Derived Property is ten years per count.  The maximum penalty for Corruptly Endeavoring to Influence a Federal Agency is five years imprisonment.  Each of the foregoing offenses also carry a maximum fine of up to $250,000 per count, a term of supervised release, and restitution if ordered.

An Indictment is an allegation of a crime.  The defendant is presumed under the law to be innocent until proven guilty. 

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation with the assistance of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.  Assistant United States Attorney William M. Gilmore represents the United States.