Robert C. Starnes, a 66-year-old financial advisor from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, was sentenced on November 5, 2025, to 40 months in federal prison for an investment fraud scheme that cost more than a dozen clients over $3 million. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman also ordered Starnes to pay $3,093,304.17 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release after prison.1Wisconsin Law Journal. Wauwatosa Advisor Gets 40 Months for $3M Investment Fraud
How the Scheme Worked
Starnes ran his own practice, Robert C. Starnes Financial Services, out of Wauwatosa while also being registered with a series of brokerage firms. He solicited retirement money from friends, family, and acquaintances, telling them he would invest it on their behalf.2U.S. Department of Justice. Financial Advisor Sentenced for Investment Fraud Scheme
None of the money was ever invested. Starnes deposited victims’ checks straight into his personal bank account and spent the funds on personal expenses.1Wisconsin Law Journal. Wauwatosa Advisor Gets 40 Months for $3M Investment Fraud To keep clients from noticing, he mailed them fabricated account statements showing balances that were supposedly growing.3We Are Green Bay. Wisconsin Financial Advisor Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison for Over $3 Million in Investment Fraud The scheme also had a Ponzi element: according to the federal indictment, Starnes used money from newer investors to make payments to earlier ones.4U.S. Department of Justice. Financial Advisor Indicted for Wire Fraud
At sentencing, Judge Adelman noted that none of the victims’ money had ever actually been invested, and described them as “ordinary, hard-working families.”3We Are Green Bay. Wisconsin Financial Advisor Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison for Over $3 Million in Investment Fraud
How It Came Apart
The scheme unraveled in 2023. On May 16, SA Stone Wealth Management, where Starnes had been registered since late 2019, fired him for violating firm policies on accepting client funds.5FINRA. BrokerCheck Individual Summary for Robert Charles Starnes A customer complaint followed within days, alleging Starnes had taken personal checks from a client and deposited them into his own accounts. That complaint, tied to his earlier tenure at Quest Capital Strategies, claimed $153,689 in damages, and Starnes reportedly agreed to repay the client’s heirs.6FINRA. BrokerCheck Report for Robert Charles Starnes (CRD# 1429794) A second complaint in August 2023 alleged $35,000 in checks written directly to Starnes that never made it into any legitimate account.
FINRA opened an investigation and requested Starnes appear for on-the-record testimony. He acknowledged the request and refused to show up.7SEC. IAPD Individual Report for Robert Charles Starnes On July 27, 2023, FINRA permanently barred him from the securities industry in all capacities.5FINRA. BrokerCheck Individual Summary for Robert Charles Starnes
A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin indicted Starnes on January 17, 2024, on two counts of wire fraud, each carrying a maximum of 20 years.4U.S. Department of Justice. Financial Advisor Indicted for Wire Fraud In January 2025, he agreed to plead guilty to both counts. In an October 2025 letter to the court, Starnes wrote: “There’s really no excuse for what I did, and I am not going to try to defend myself. What I did was wrong, and I know it’s wrong.”8Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Robert C. Starnes of Wauwatosa Sentenced for Investment Fraud Scheme No co-defendants were charged.9Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Wauwatosa Financial Adviser Indicted for Wire Fraud
Will Victims Get Their Money Back?
The criminal restitution order of $3,093,304.17 represents what the court determined victims lost. Whether much of it will actually be collected is uncertain, as it often is when a fraudster has spent the stolen funds on personal expenses over a period of years.
Victims have also pursued a separate civil route. In November 2024, a FINRA arbitration case was filed against Quest Capital Strategies and StoneX Securities, the successor to SA Stone Wealth Management, alleging the firms are vicariously liable for losses caused by Starnes’s misconduct. The claimants are seeking $3 million in damages, and the arbitration remained pending as of the most recent FINRA records.6FINRA. BrokerCheck Report for Robert Charles Starnes (CRD# 1429794)
As of the latest available reporting in late 2025, Starnes had not filed an appeal, and the court records do not reflect any post-sentencing proceedings beyond the restitution order and supervised release conditions.3We Are Green Bay. Wisconsin Financial Advisor Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison for Over $3 Million in Investment Fraud