On August 16, 2024, Jerry O. Pearson appeared in the Western District of Louisiana and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. An investigation revealed that from 2012 to 2021, Pearson was the owner/operator of Mid South Retirement Services, LLC (“Mid South”), located in Boyce, Louisiana. As owner/operator of Mid South, Pearson managed Self Directed Individual Retirement Accounts. Pearson created a scheme to defraud clients wherein he would take funds that Mid South was holding as the custodian, and transfer them to other accounts he controlled, without the client’s permission. In total, during the scheme, Pearson transferred over $3.4 million in client funds from the Mid South client funding bank account to other accounts he controlled. Pearson then used the funds for himself, as well as the benefit of his family and other companies that he controlled. In order to keep the scheme from being detected, Pearson would misrepresent to clients that he was investing the funds as they had directed, when, in fact, he was taking the money.
The investigation into Pearson’s activities was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations with assistance from the Securities Division of the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions. The prosecution was handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana. The sentencing hearing for Pearson is scheduled for December 3, 2024.