Jesus Rodriguez de la Cruz, 46, a former financial advisor with Morgan Stanley in El Paso, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for orchestrating a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas announced the sentence on Thursday.
Between May 2018 and August 2021, Rodriguez de la Cruz defrauded Morgan Stanley and its clients by submitting false documents and impersonating clients to authorize unauthorized transfers. He tricked the financial institution into wiring funds to accounts controlled by himself or his relatives.
One example of his fraudulent activities included submitting a fake request for a $48,575.36 transfer, claiming it was for a real estate purchase in El Paso, when in fact the funds were sent to an account linked to a family member. In another instance, Rodriguez de la Cruz transferred $125,000 from a client account to fund the purchase of a Lamborghini.
Through similar schemes involving multiple clients and accounts, Rodriguez de la Cruz stole a total of $5,554,968.10 from Morgan Stanley. The U.S. attorney’s office also reported that he failed to report any of the stolen funds as income between 2017 and 2021, causing an additional $408,055 loss to the IRS.
Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman condemned Rodriguez de la Cruz’s actions, stating, “This defendant abused the trust of his clients and his responsibilities as a financial advisor to steal millions of dollars.” She emphasized that the sentence demonstrated the commitment to holding fraud perpetrators accountable.
