Investment Adviser Admits To Bilking Clients Out Of $2.25M

MAPLE GROVE, MN — A Maple Grove investment adviser admitted Wednesday to defrauding his customers out of $2.25 million in a years-long mail fraud scheme.

Isaiah L. Goodman, 33, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of mail fraud. Goodman admitted to scamming 23 of his clients from 2017 to 2020, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota said in a statement.

Goodman is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29. He faces up to eight years in prison.

Goodman swindled his clients primarily through two companies he owned, Becoming Financial Group and Becoming Financial Advisory Services, which claimed to offer financial and investment planning, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Goodman admitted that he lied to his customers, saying their money would be placed into "safe and secure investment accounts" when in reality they were deposited into bank accounts he controlled.

Prosecutors said he used the ill-gotten money to make several purchases, including homes in Maple Grove and Plymouth, as well as a hot tub, two cars and jewelry. He funneled roughly $700,000 into a third company he owned, MoneyVerbs, which offered financial planning advice through a phone application.

As part of his plea agreement, Goodman will hand over everything he purchased using the stolen money to the government, including his interest in MoneyVerbs, officials said.