A financial advisor in The Villages began 2026 behind bars.
Arthur “Skip” Eugene West, 74, operator of West Financial Group, was transferred on New Year’s Eve to the Sumter County Detention Center where he is being held without bond on a probation violation. West had been placed on probation as the result of a 2022 incident at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant at the Brownwood Hotel & Spa in which he allegedly groped a woman and placed her hand on his crotch.
He is also facing a charge of intimidation. He is charged with sending threatening texts and leaving disturbing voice messages for his ex-wife, whom he divorced in 2025. She was living in Stonecrest in Summerfield at the time. The intimidation arrest was considered a violation of his probation.
West is well known in The Villages, hosting lunch and dinner seminars in which he pushes financial products, primarily annuities. His website offers soothing testimonials from clients who say they feel a sense of financial security since investing with West…