Financial Adviser

A mortgage broker and financial adviser in Annapolis has been charged with taking more than $2.3 million of his clients' money and playing the stock market with it, according to filings by the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U. S. Attorney's Office. David W. Wehrs, 54, the owner of Maryland Title and Escrow Co., was charged this month in U. S. District Court in Baltimore in connection with a scheme to defraud investors and financial institutions of approximately $2.3 million.

A couple of years ago, Joe and Marlene Everett were 50-something empty nesters with a daughter out on her own and a son away at college. Now, thanks to the weak economy, the Everetts are once again all living under the same roof in Woodbine. It's a bit of a financial strain, admits Marlene Everett, but one the couple has taken on willingly to help kids who don't yet earn enough to live on their own. "We enjoy them being here right now," the 54-year-old mother says. "This is the last time they will live at home before branching out. " More American families are finding themselves in a similar situation, according to the federal government.

A federal grand jury indicted a Baltimore financial adviser Tuesday for mail fraud in an alleged scheme to defraud vulnerable clients including an 85-year-old with dementia of more than $838,500, according to the U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland. Federal prosecutors say Ralph Edward Thomas Jr., 52, was vice president of a Harbor Bank subsidiary in late 2001 when he convinced a woman who was a trustee of her injured daughter's $3 million legal settlement to move the account to Harbor Bank.

A federal grand jury indicted a Baltimore financial adviser Tuesday for mail fraud in an alleged scheme to defraud vulnerable clients including an 85-year-old with dementia of more than $838,500, according to the U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland. Federal prosecutors say Ralph Edward Thomas Jr., 52, was vice president of a Harbor Bank subsidiary in late 2001 when he convinced a woman who was a trustee of her injured daughter's $3 million legal settlement to move the account to Harbor Bank.

David Mrgich of Columbia isn't asking too much. All he wants is an objective financial adviser to review his modest portfolio and see whether it needs fine tuning. When Mrgich was younger, his father handled his investments. "The nice thing: I knew he had my best interests at heart," he says. Since then, Mrgich has been frustrated trying to find a trustworthy adviser outside the family. The 46-year-old state recycling coordinator earns around $74,000 a year and has built up a nest egg of about $100,000 — not enough to interest many financial professionals.

Carroll's county commissioners voted 2-1 yesterday to keep their financial adviser of 13 years -- even though he has left Alex. Brown & Sons -- because he knows the county's business.The adviser, A. Samuel Ketterman, now is senior vice president nTC of A. Webster Dougherty and Co. Inc., a Philadelphia company that recently opened a Baltimore office.Alex. Brown & Sons has provided financial advice to the county for at least 20 years, but Mr. Ketterman's knowledge of county matters is crucial, Comptroller Eugene C. Curfman said.

Valerie A. Schroeder, a retired financial adviser and former Parkville resident, died of lung cancer Tuesday at her home in Egg Harbor Township, N.J. She was 55. Ms. Schroeder was born in Baltimore and raised in Towson. She was a 1968 graduate of Towson High School and attended Harford Community College and Essex Community College. During the 1980s and 1990s, Ms. Schroeder worked as a financial adviser for Alex. Brown & Sons. For five years, until retiring in 2005 on a medical disability, she had been employed in a similar capacity at Edward Jones Investments.

Virginia S. Freeman, a retired office manager and financial adviser, died of lung cancer Wednesday at the Blakehurst Life Care Community in Towson, where she lived for the past four years. The former Guilford resident was 88. Born Helen Virginia Smith in Baltimore and raised in Forest Park, she graduated in 1935 from Western High School and attended Strayer Business College. She was a Glenn L. Martin Co. secretary in the 1950s and an office manager for a food brokerage for another 15 years.

Nathaniel duBois "Randy" Arnot Jr., a Baltimore financial adviser and volunteer, died Aug. 6 of a heart attack at his summer home in upstate New York's Thousand Islands area. He was 66. Mr. Arnot was at his longtime vacation home in Wellesley Island, N.Y., when stricken. Mr. Arnot, the son of a maritime joiner and a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised in Roland Park. He was a 1962 graduate of St. Paul's School and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1966 from the University of Denver.

Albert J. "Jay" Perry III, a financial adviser and collector of classic racing cars, died Wednesday of lung cancer at Good Samaritan Hospital. He was 62. Mr. Perry was born in Baltimore and raised in Ruxton. He was a 1966 graduate of the Gilman School and earned his pre-law degree in 1970 from Emory University in Atlanta. An Air Force veteran, he earned his law degree in the early 1970s from the University of Florida Frederic G. Levin School of Law. He was a trust officer at Mercantile-Safe Deposit and Trust Co. until 1983, when he left to establish A.J. Perry & Co. Inc., a financial advisory firm in the 1000 block of St. Paul St. At the time of his death, Mr. Perry had not retired from the family-owned and -operated company.

Integral Systems Inc., which makes ground-based systems for satellite communication networks, said Thursday that it hired a financial adviser to explore its strategic alternatives, including possible acquisitions, mergers or other transactions. The Columbia-based company, which counts NASA and the Air Force among its government and commercial customers, said it retained Stone Key Partners LLC as its financial adviser. Stone Key, based in Greenwich, Conn., was founded in 2009 by two top former executives who used to work at Bear Stearns, which collapsed in 2008 during the financial crisis.

Joseph J. "Jay" Jaso Jr., an Ellicott City financial planner and adviser who realized a lifelong dream this year when he earned his pilot's license, was killed Aug. 10 when a single-engine Cessna 172 he was aboard crashed in Massachusetts. He was 52. Mr. Jaso and his longtime friend and flight instructor, Jack Allen Johnson, 61, also of Ellicott City, were en route to Bar Harbor, Maine, where they had planned a hiking and fishing vacation, when their plane went down. Earlier in the day, Mr. Jaso and Mr. Jackson had departed Fort Meade and had just finished refueling at Orange Municipal Airport, some 40 miles northwest of Worcester, Mass.

Nathaniel duBois "Randy" Arnot Jr., a Baltimore financial adviser and volunteer, died Aug. 6 of a heart attack at his summer home in upstate New York's Thousand Islands area. He was 66. Mr. Arnot was at his longtime vacation home in Wellesley Island, N.Y., when stricken. Mr. Arnot, the son of a maritime joiner and a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised in Roland Park. He was a 1962 graduate of St. Paul's School and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1966 from the University of Denver.

Albert J. "Jay" Perry III, a financial adviser and collector of classic racing cars, died Wednesday of lung cancer at Good Samaritan Hospital. He was 62. Mr. Perry was born in Baltimore and raised in Ruxton. He was a 1966 graduate of the Gilman School and earned his pre-law degree in 1970 from Emory University in Atlanta. An Air Force veteran, he earned his law degree in the early 1970s from the University of Florida Frederic G. Levin School of Law. He was a trust officer at Mercantile-Safe Deposit and Trust Co. until 1983, when he left to establish A.J. Perry & Co. Inc., a financial advisory firm in the 1000 block of St. Paul St. At the time of his death, Mr. Perry had not retired from the family-owned and -operated company.

David Mrgich of Columbia isn't asking too much. All he wants is an objective financial adviser to review his modest portfolio and see whether it needs fine tuning. When Mrgich was younger, his father handled his investments. "The nice thing: I knew he had my best interests at heart," he says. Since then, Mrgich has been frustrated trying to find a trustworthy adviser outside the family. The 46-year-old state recycling coordinator earns around $74,000 a year and has built up a nest egg of about $100,000 — not enough to interest many financial professionals.

Annapolis financial adviser charged with $2.3M fraud An Annapolis mortgage broker and financial adviser has been charged with using more than $2.3 million of his clients' money to play the stock market, according to filings by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. attorney's office. David W. Wehrs, 54, owner of Maryland Title and Escrow Co., was charged this month in U.S. District Court in Baltimore in connection with a scheme to defraud investors and financial institutions of about $2.3 million.