ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – An Anderson man charged with over a million dollars of financial crimes has pleaded guilty in South Carolina’s first criminal prosecution under the State’s Commodities Act.
39-year-old Matthew Joseph Jones was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison, suspended to 90 days in jail, after pleading guilty to breach of trust, obtaining money or property under false pretenses, securities fraud, and commodities fraud.
Investigators said the investigation was initiated in 2016 when Jones, who was not licensed to do so, began managing money for a 65-year-old victim.
Jones created false account statements, manipulated commodity purchase returns and branched out into securities fraud by soliciting investment in a company through false materials and lies according to officials.
The South Carolina State Securities Division was notified about Jones’s activities when they received a tip regarding a website that contained photos of stock traders who allegedly worked for the company but, in actuality, did not know Jones.