A disgraced former FBI special agent pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court in Detroit to investment fraud in a foreign currency trading scheme.
Jeffrey Royer entered the plea to one count of wire fraud in connection with the scheme. Royer repeatedly lied to investors about his status as an investor and the profitability of his practice as he defrauded clients out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the United States Department of Justice.
He faces up to 20 years in prison and has agreed to pay more than $576,000 to his victims, according to a DOJ news release.
Royer’s guilty plea comes after he was released from federal prison in 2012 for racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. To earn this sentence, Royer used his position as an FBI agent to pass along information about companies under federal investigation to a “short seller” in exchange for the promise of money and employment, the release states.
According to the DOJ, Royer from 2020-2023 told investors he would use their money for trading but diverted some to personal expenses. Royer also lied to his investors about their returns on investment, which were suffering significant losses under his management.
“In truth and fact, Royer was not an accomplished (foreign currency) trader, his trading was generally unsuccessful, and the trading results Royer provided to investors were false and did not reflect the trading losses actually incurred,” the indictment said.
Royer also held multiple in-person meetings in with investors in Metro Detroit, where he encouraged them to tell others about investing with him. He also lied to his investors about their account balances and falsely promised to make investors whole at the end of his scheme, according to the indictment.
The DOJ noted in the indictment that Royer omitted the facts that he was not registered with the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission and that he had previously been convicted of federal securities fraud.
“No one, including a former FBI Special Agent, is entitled to a different set of rules,” said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “The defendant betrayed the trust of investors, concealed the truth, and caused significant financial harm.”
Royer is set for sentencing Sept. 3 before federal judge Mark Goldsmith, the release states.
mbryan@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Former FBI agent pleads guilty to financial crimes in Metro Detroit
Reporting by Max Bryan, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
