Lowell Money Manager Indicted On Fraud, Identity Theft Charges

LOWELL, MA — A Lowell money manager was federally indicted Tuesday and charged with defrauding clients out of over $2 million, prosecutors said.

Steven Xigoros, 54, was indicted on one count of investment adviser fraud, four counts of wire fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, two counts of unlawful monetary transactions and one count of filing false tax returns.

Xigoros was due to appear in federal court in Boston Tuesday afternoon.

According to the indictment, Xigoros advised clients to entrust money to him to make investments and purchase securities from 2013 to 2020. He then used the funds himself, including to pay off gambling debts.

"In order to deceive his clients about the fact that he had stolen their money, it is alleged that Xigoros made a series of false statements to his clients about where their money was invested and when he would repay it," prosecutors said in news release. "He also allegedly used one client’s name and Social Security number to open a bank account and wrote a check on that account to another client, knowing the check would bounce."

According to the indictment, Xigoros defrauded his clients of $2.1 million.

Xigoros could face up to 20 years in prison for the charge of wire fraud.

All people are presumed innocent until proven guilty.