He never told his clients that he had been permanently barred from acting as a financial advisor by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A 53-year-old financial advisor from Ashburn is headed to federal prison for orchestrating a years-long investment fraud scheme that caused devastating losses for his clients.
Andrew Corbman was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for defrauding investors out of more than $4 million. A judge also ordered Corbman to pay $4.15 million in restitution to his victims.
According to court records, Corbman, who was once affiliated with a national estate planning company, used his position to gain the trust of individuals seeking help with trusts, annuities and long-term financial planning. Over the course of several years, he convinced two individuals and two couples to loan him money with the promise of high returns through stock market options trading.
What Corbman failed to disclose was critical: he had been permanently barred from acting as a financial advisor by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in 2016, and had filed for bankruptcy the year before. Despite knowing the risks, and his own history of financial failure, Corbman reassured clients with false claims of trading success, including one fabricated document that claimed he had an 82% win rate and an average 90% return.
In reality, Corbman’s trades had consistently lost money since at least 2019.
Prosecutors say he lost over $4 million of his clients’ money and only repaid $120,000 to one victim late in the scheme. When pressed by investors in 2022 and 2023 to repay the money, Corbman admitted to incurring unexpected trading losses and once again filed for bankruptcy, seeking to discharge the millions he owed.
The consequences of his actions were severe. At least one victim was forced to mortgage their home, delay retirement and seek employment late in life due to the financial hardship caused by Corbman’s deception.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell L. Carlberg.
