JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced today that Jared Dean Eakes, 34, of Jacksonville, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and bank fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to his plea agreement, Eakes carried out two major schemes between 2019 and 2021 that resulted in millions of dollars in losses to investors and taxpayers.
Between January 2019 and February 2020, Eakes posed as a legitimate business advisor and approached investment advisors who were seeking to sell their advisory practices. After negotiating to take over management of their clients’ assets, prosecutors said Eakes diverted approximately $2,737,462 in victim-investor funds for his personal benefit. He allegedly withdrew cash, paid personal expenses, transferred funds to a Las Vegas casino, and engaged in unauthorized options trading through a personal brokerage account.
In a separate scheme, Eakes fraudulently obtained nearly $4.8 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans between March 2020 and November 2021. The PPP, created under the CARES Act, was designed to provide emergency relief to businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program required borrowers to use loan proceeds for payroll and certain approved expenses in order to qualify for forgiveness.
Prosecutors said Eakes caused the submission of four PPP loan applications, some tied to entities involved in his investor fraud. The applications contained false information about employees and payroll. Once approved, Eakes used the emergency funds for options trading and cash withdrawals rather than business expenses.
As part of his plea, Eakes agreed to forfeit the proceeds of both schemes—$2.7 million from investor fraud and $4.75 million from PPP fraud—and to pay full restitution to his victims.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Mesrobian.
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