Wilmette Adviser Alan H. Gold Sentenced to 75 Months for Gambling Away Clients' Money While Sending Fake Facebook Stock Statements

Case from 2015–2016 (U.S. Attorney's Office latest release: Sept. 1, 2016). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Alan H. Gold, a financial adviser who ran Alan Gold & Associates out of his Wilmette, Illinois, home, was sentenced on Aug. 31, 2016, to 75 months in federal prison for pocketing nearly $2 million from clients after promising investments in Facebook stock and real estate funds, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1]. He was ordered to pay more than $1.8 million in restitution.

How the scheme worked

According to prosecutors [1]:

1. The promise: Gold told more than a dozen investors their money would go into high-yield stocks, real estate funds, futures contracts and other products.
2. No investing: He never invested it. He gambled at local casinos and paid personal expenses.
3. Cover-up: For more than seven years he sent statements on Alan Gold & Associates letterhead showing holdings such as Facebook stock, and he gave clients fake stock certificates.
4. Reassurance: When clients asked about performance, he said their investments were exceeding expectations.

The scheme ran from about January 2008 until his arrest in June 2015. Many victims were retirees.

The person sentenced

Alan H. Gold, 61 at sentencing, of Wilmette, Ill. [1]

• Arrest (June 8, 2015): charged by criminal complaint and released on a $10,000 recognizance bond [2].
• Plea (January 2016): pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud.
• Sentence (Aug. 31, 2016): 75 months in prison and more than $1.8 million in restitution, imposed by U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo.
• Investigation: FBI Chicago, with help from the SEC and the Arlington Heights and Norridge police departments.

Not to be confused with Alan P. Gold, a different defendant in an unrelated Northern District of Illinois case.

Red flags

• Statements printed by your adviser's own small firm, with no third-party custodian.
• Paper stock certificates for widely traded shares like Facebook, which are normally held electronically.
• Glowing performance claims whenever you ask questions.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Make sure an independent custodian holds your assets and sends statements directly to you.
2. Check your adviser at adviserinfo.sec.gov and FINRA BrokerCheck.
3. Report suspected adviser theft to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr and local police.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Alan H. Gold, Wilmette, Ill.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Bucklo)	Arrested June 8, 2015; pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud January 2016; sentenced Aug. 31, 2016, to 75 months	[1], [2]

The sentence was imposed in 2016; we have not found a source on any later proceedings.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Wilmette Investment Advisor Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Prison for Bilking Clients out of Nearly $2 Million," Sept. 1, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/wilmette-investment-advisor-sentenced-more-six-years-prison-bilking-clients-out-nearly
2. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Suburban Investment Advisor Arrested For Defrauding Clients Of Approximately $1 Million," June 8, 2015. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/suburban-investment-advisor-arrested-defrauding-clients-approximately-1-million

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