Homosassa resident charged with investment fraud
Todd's Bay County mugshot courtesy of CCSO.
Charges include one count of scheme to defraud $50,000 or more, six counts of grand theft of $100,000 or more, and one count of grand theft of less than $20,000. He will be transported to the Citrus County Detention Facility in Lecanto, Florida, where he will be held without bond.
Todd's arrest is the result of an investigation by Detective Rob Ramos with the CCSO High Tech Crimes Unit. Detective Ramos identified numeous victims, many of whom had lost hundreds of thousands of dollars Todd was supposed to invest. The investigation revealed that Todd directed his victims to write checks to him personally instead of the financial firms he represented, using the victims' money to benefit himself.
Todd has been involved in the investment industry in Citrus County, Florida for several decades, working for several investment firms during that time. His victims include numerous Citrus County residents and business owners who placed their trust in him due to his decades of experience in the local area.
"Todd used his position and his reputation in our community to take advantage of the victims in this case," said Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast. "These victims trusted him to invest their life savings, and he betrayed that trust, using their money to fund his personal lifestyle. Detective Ramos worked closely with the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office throughout this investigation to try and bring some justice to Todd's many victims, though many may never financially recover from his betrayal. It is imperative that if you or your loved ones have financial investments, do your due diligence and ensure your advisor is handling your money properly."
Todd was barred by FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) and the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) as a broker or investment adviser or associating with firms that sell securities or provide investment advice. A motion was filed in a Florida state court in January 2023 to liquidate and distribute his assets to creditors. In July 2023, the SEC filed a complaint against Todd in federal court in Ocala, Florida, alleging that between approximately August 2016 through November 2022, he'd stolen approximately $3 million from 20 customers of a brokerage firm where he was working.
According to Investment News, Todd's broker and advisory service was Todd Financial Services of Crystal River, Florida, and he also owned an insurance brokerage service, TFS Insurance Services; Todd was most recently affiliated with Centaurus Financial, Inc., based in Anaheim, California.
Todd's brokeage history can be viewed at this link: https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/1830390.