A former financier, Brett Thomas Graham, 61, has pled guilty in the Southern District of Florida to defrauding an elderly family member out of approximately $8.4 million. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office.
Court documents reveal that Graham began assisting his family member after she became a widow around 2017. In November 2018, he helped her retain a financial advisor based in New York. By February 2019, the family member sold a townhouse in New York for about $9 million. Starting September 2019, Graham transferred money from her accounts into his own checking account for personal use.
In December 2020, after assuming power of attorney over his family member's affairs, Graham requested $250,000 from the financial advisor under the pretense of covering “higher medical & care expenses.” He then used these funds for himself. Similarly, in November 2022, he requested another $400,000 citing “[a]mazing [investment] opps…” and spent over $300,000 on personal expenses including credit card bills, art purchases, travel, and rent.
Law enforcement seized approximately $2 million worth of jewelry and art acquired with the fraud proceeds. Graham is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks on September 16.
The FBI Miami Field Office conducted the investigation with assistance from the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli S. Rubin is prosecuting this case while Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Demirci handled asset forfeiture.
For more information related to court documents and proceedings, visit the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida or access http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov using case number 25-cr-20103.