A federal judge has sentenced a former Wausau financial advisor to prison after he was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering charges.
The judge sentenced Anthony B. Liddle to eight years in federal prison last week. The Western District U.S. Attorney’s office says Liddle portrayed himself as a family man looking to help people through his firm, Prosper Wealth Management in Wausau.
He solicited investments between 2019 and 2022, which he told clients were being placed in low-risk investments. Instead, he was spending the money on business expenses, personal expenses and travel, according to the Department of Justice’s report. He never actually invested the money.
Liddle in total took in $1.9 million from clients, according to the report.
Liddle called the payments “loans” when the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions began investigating him, even creating false loan documents, the DOJ says. Liddle’s broker license was revoked after he failed to cooperate with investigators, according to a FINRA document.
Judge James Peterson called the crimes “monstrous” since he stole largely from people he knew well, and many of them were seniors.
