Avon Investment Advisor Pleads Guilty To Major Fraud Scheme: Feds

AVON, CT — An Avon investment advisor has pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud charges in connection with a scheme that caused more than $3.3 million in losses to three financial services companies, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

Andrew M. Komarow, 37, of Avon, pleaded guilty Thursday, Oct. 22, before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford, according to David X. Sullivan, U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Komarow, an investment advisor and broker-dealer who served a range of clients, admitted to exploiting electronic fund transfer processing delays to conduct high-risk financial trades using money he did not have available in his bank accounts.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Komarow carried out the scheme between October 2022 and February 2023.

During that period, he initiated approximately $8.9 million in Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers from his personal bank accounts to multiple brokerage accounts, many of which were newly opened.

Prosecutors said Komarow initiated the transfers despite having insufficient funds in his bank accounts to cover the transactions.

He then used the brokerage accounts to conduct high-risk, short-term options trading in an attempt to generate immediate profits that would cover the insufficient funds.

The scheme exploited the delay between when electronic transfers were initiated and when financial institutions processed and cleared the transactions.

Federal authorities said the fraudulent activity resulted in combined losses of $3,352,507 for the three financial services companies.

Komarow pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

He was arrested March 2 and remains free on a $50,000 bond while awaiting sentencing.

A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

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