Former CBOE Director Alvin Wilkinson Sentenced to 7 Years for $13.5 Million Hedge Fund Fraud on Friends and Family

Case from 2017–2019 (U.S. Attorney's Office latest release: Dec. 20, 2019). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Alvin Wilkinson, a former director of the Chicago Board Options Exchange who founded Chicago Index Partners LP and Wilkinson Financial Opportunity Fund LP, was sentenced on Dec. 19, 2019, to seven years and four months in federal prison for a fraud scheme that took about $13.5 million from at least 30 investors, many of them friends, family members and colleagues, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1].

How the scheme worked

According to prosecutors [1] [2]:

1. Pitch: Wilkinson said he would trade a portfolio of options, futures and other instruments, and that his strategy made money regardless of market conditions. His marketing noted his past role as a CBOE director.
2. Close circle: Investors included his friends, relatives, acquaintances and former colleagues, including people in the Chicago area.
3. No trading: He did not maintain trading accounts for the funds and did not use investor money to trade options and futures.
4. Ponzi-type payments: He used investor money for personal expenses and later to pay earlier investors.
5. Duration: The scheme began no later than 1999 and continued until 2016.

The person sentenced

Alvin Wilkinson, 61 at sentencing, of Sharon, Conn. [1]

• Indictment: returned in January 2017 charging three counts of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud; he was arrested Jan. 18, 2017, in Connecticut [2].
• Plea: pleaded guilty in 2019 to one count of wire fraud.
• Sentence (Dec. 19, 2019): seven years and four months in prison and $8.032 million in restitution, imposed by U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman.
• Related case: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a civil enforcement lawsuit against Wilkinson and assisted the investigation.

Red flags

• Claims of profits "regardless of market conditions." No legitimate trading strategy wins every year.
• Credentials used as a sales tool (exchange directorships, titles) instead of audited results.
• No independent custodian or brokerage statements showing the fund's actual positions.
• Investments sold through friendship and family ties, where people are reluctant to ask hard questions.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Ask for statements directly from the clearing firm or custodian, not just from the manager.
2. Check registration with the CFTC and NFA at nfa.futures.org/BasicNet and with the SEC.
3. Report commodity pool fraud to the CFTC at cftc.gov/complaint and investment fraud to the FBI at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Alvin Wilkinson, Sharon, Conn.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Coleman)	Indicted January 2017; pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2019; sentenced Dec. 19, 2019, to 88 months; $8.032M restitution	[1], [2]

The sentence was imposed in 2019; we have not found a source on Wilkinson's current custody status.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Hedge Fund Manager Sentenced to More Than 7 Years in Federal Prison in Connection with Multi-Million Dollar Swindle," Dec. 20, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/hedge-fund-manager-sentenced-more-7-years-federal-prison-connection-multi-million
2. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Investment Manager Arrested On Fraud And Misappropriation Charges In Alleged Multi-Million Dollar Swindle," Jan. 19, 2017. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/investment-manager-arrested-fraud-and-misappropriation-charges-alleged-multi-million

---

Corrections and updates: If you are named in this article, or represent someone who is, and believe anything here is inaccurate or out of date (including a dismissal, acquittal, or change in case status), please contact us at editorandchief@scammers.com. We will review it and update the article promptly.