WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Brett Graham, the founder of Vertical Capital who was barred by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, pled guilty to federal charges on Tuesday in West Palm Beach.
According to prosecutors, Graham, 61, stole about $8.4 million from his mother for several years after she became a widow in 2017 and he helped her to get a financial advisor in 2018.
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Prosecutors accused Graham of transferring her money to his accounts after she sold a townhouse in New York for about $9 million in 2019.
In 2020, with power of attorney, Graham asked her financial advisor for $250,000 for “higher medical & care expenses,” but he spent it on himself, according to prosecutors.
In 2022, Graham asked the financial advisor for $400,000 and spent over $300,000 on his credit card, art, travel, and rent, according to prosecutors.
Graham was awaiting sentencing for the financial fraud before U.S. Circuit Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks on Sept. 16 in West Palm Beach. FBI Miami special agents investigated the case.