A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging a Chevy Chase, Maryland, man with stealing $750,000 from a nonprofit veterans organization.
Brian McQuade, 70, was indicted on two federal charges of wire fraud this month, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The indictment was unsealed Monday when McQuade was arrested.
From June 2018 to August 2021, McQuade allegedly perpetrated a fraud scheme to obtain money from a nonprofit that provides services to combat and military veterans.
According to federal prosecutors, McQuade held himself out as an investment adviser to clients, falsely telling them that he would manage investment accounts on their behalf through an entity called Columbia Financial Advisors, which he said was the investment advisory unit of an established D.C. accounting firm.
But, instead of helping them, prosecutors say, McQuade misappropriated the funds and used them for his own personal use.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, McQuade has not been affiliated with the accounting firm since at least 2015.
Federal prosecutors accuse McQuade of telling the nonprofit organization that he was a licensed, registered investment adviser, and provided them with an “investment advisory agreement” before they made their investment.
But according to the indictment, McQuade never opened a brokerage account on behalf of the unidentified foundation and, instead, transferred the funds to personal accounts and spent the money on restaurants, country club dues, luxury car payments, mortgages and other personal items.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also said he fabricated an account statement to cover up his tracks.
Despite repeated requests, the nonprofit organization has been unable to recover any of its funds, according to the indictment.
If convicted, McQuade faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each of the two wire fraud counts.
The Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI are still investigating the case, and they urge anyone who believes they might have been a victim or have any other information to contact the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
