​MN Investment Advisor Stole $2.25M From Clients: U.S. Attorney

MAPLE GROVE, MN — A Maple Grove man is facing federal fraud charges after stealing over $2 million from his clients, according to the Department of Justice.

The man, Isaiah L. Goodman, has been charged with one count of mail fraud after a nearly two-year operation stole some $2.25 million from at least 20 of his clients, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.

According to the release, Goodman told his clients the funds he collected from them would be invested in securities for retirement and investment accounts but instead used the funds for personal and business expenses.

The funds were instead used to remodel Goodman's Maple Grove home and construct another $1.69 million home in Plymouth, prosecutors allege. They say Goodman also used the money to buy two cars, a hot tub, a cruse trip, a fitness club membership and jewelry, and he funneled some $700,000 toward his other business, MoneyVerbs.

Goodman also faces civil charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which alleges the man provided his clients with fake account statements and computer screenshots falsely showing their funds had been invested and their accounts had appreciated. He is also suspected of using some funds to make Ponzi-like payments to clients.

The SEC filed parallel charges with the U.S. Attorney's Office and is seeking to make Goodman pay civil penalties and to repay his defrauded clients.

Goodman's attorney, Joe Dixon, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that his client "takes full responsibility for his actions and is doing what he can to make amends."