Pierce County man allegedly stole $920K from financial advising client in her 70s
A former financial advisor from Fox Island was indicted last month after he allegedly defrauded one of his clients, a widow in her 70s, of over $920,000 in life savings and inheritance funds, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release on April 7.
John S. Winslow, 56, worked for a national financial-services firm and allegedly transferred the victim’s money to his own accounts over multiple transactions, according to the release. He was indicted by a federal grand jury for wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and submitting false information on his tax returns.
Winslow pleaded not guilty at his arraignment March 31 and awaits a trial in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Winslow allegedly used his gains to buy an island home, a new car and a diamond necklace, as well as install a hot tub and new appliances, the release said.
He allegedly gained the victim’s trust and used it to his advantage.
“He visited the victim at her home and instructed the victim to call the bank and put the call on speaker,” the release said. “He then told the victim what she should tell the bank ... he falsely claimed to the victim that if she transferred money to him, he would repay her at a higher interest rate than what she was getting from her banks.”
To access the victim’s money, Winslow allegedly moved funds from her brokerage accounts with the financial-services firm to her external bank account, thus circumventing the firm’s surveillance system. He then allegedly had funds from her external bank account transferred to his own accounts, the release said.
He also made further transactions to appear less suspicious, such as using the victim’s money to buy gold coins from an online retailer and reselling them to a brick-and-mortar retailer before depositing the proceeds into his accounts.
The Internal Revenue Service lost about $245,000 in taxes from Winslow’s alleged failure to report the stolen funds on his federal tax returns, the release said. IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
He could face up to 20 years in prison for his alleged counts of wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering and up to three years in prison for his alleged false tax returns, according to the release.
This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
