Ex-Merrill Lynch Adviser Marcus Boggs Sentenced to 3½ Years for Stealing $3 Million From Clients, Including an Exoneree's Settlement

Case from 2019–2021 (U.S. Attorney's Office latest release: Aug. 13, 2021). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Marcus E. Boggs, 51, of Chicago, was a financial adviser at a large wealth management firm. On Aug. 12, 2021, he was sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for stealing more than $3 million from clients over 10 years, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois [1] and the Chicago Sun-Times [3]. The Securities and Exchange Commission put the sentence at 42 months [4].

Note: The body of the U.S. Attorney's Office release mentions a "36-month prison sentence," but its headline, the Sun-Times and the SEC all report three and a half years (42 months).

U.S. District Judge Mary M. Rowland also ordered more than $3.08 million in restitution [1]. The Sun-Times identified the firm as Merrill Lynch, which it said employed Boggs from 2006 until it fired him in 2018 [3].

How the scheme worked

According to federal prosecutors [1] [2]:

• The promise. Boggs told clients and his employer that he would use client funds to buy and sell securities.
• The reality. Over about a decade, he spent more than $3 million of client money on his personal credit cards and his home mortgage. The card charges covered international vacations, expensive dinners and rent on several Chicago apartments.
• A wrongful-conviction settlement. One client had received about $5 million from the State of Illinois after DNA evidence cleared him of a crime he had been imprisoned for. He hired Boggs to manage part of the money so it would last the rest of his life. Boggs took about $800,000 of it.
• "Market fluctuations." Another client sold his home and invested the proceeds for retirement income. When the balance dropped, Boggs blamed the stock market, according to the criminal complaint. In fact, Boggs had used about $127,000 of that money to pay his credit cards.

The SEC alleged that from 2016 to 2018, Boggs made more than 200 unauthorized transfers from three advisory clients' accounts to his personal credit card account, after selling securities in those accounts [4].

"Defendant had a personal relationship with his clients and knew what they hoped to achieve with their life savings and retirement," Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Mitchell wrote in the government's sentencing memorandum [1]. The Sun-Times reported that Merrill Lynch compensated the victims [3].

Outcome

• Criminal case (No. 19-cr-659, N.D. Ill.): Boggs was arrested Aug. 22, 2019, at O'Hare International Airport before boarding an international flight, and was ordered detained [2]. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud in March 2021 [3] and was sentenced Aug. 12, 2021, to 3½ years in prison with more than $3.08 million in restitution [1] [3].
• SEC civil case (No. 19-cv-5672, N.D. Ill.): A partial judgment entered Dec. 18, 2019, enjoined Boggs from violating the antifraud laws [4]. The court entered a consent final judgment on Oct. 22, 2021 [5].

Red flags

• Unexplained drops in your account blamed on "the market" while the market is up.
• Sales of your holdings you didn't order, followed by cash moving out of the account.
• An adviser who discourages you from calling the firm or reading statements.

What to do

1. Read monthly statements line by line and question any withdrawal or transfer you didn't request.
2. Set up online access to your account at the firm so you can see activity yourself, and name a trusted contact person.
3. Check your adviser on brokercheck.finra.org. Report problems to the firm's compliance department, the SEC at sec.gov/tcr and FINRA.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Marcus E. Boggs, Chicago	N.D. Ill., 19-cr-659	Pleaded guilty to wire fraud (March 2021); sentenced Aug. 12, 2021, to 3½ years (42 months) and $3.08M+ restitution	[1], [3], [4]
Marcus Boggs	N.D. Ill., 19-cv-5672 (SEC)	Partial judgment with injunction Dec. 18, 2019; consent final judgment Oct. 22, 2021	[4], [5]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Financial Adviser Sentenced to Three and a Half Years in Prison for Swindling Millions From Clients," Aug. 13, 2021. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/financial-adviser-sentenced-three-and-half-years-prison-swindling-millions-clients
2. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Former Financial Adviser Arrested on Fraud Charge for Allegedly Swindling Millions from Clients," Aug. 27, 2019. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/former-financial-adviser-arrested-fraud-charge-allegedly-swindling-millions-clients
3. Chicago Sun-Times, Jon Seidel, "Ex-Merrill Lynch adviser who stole from member of Dixmoor 5 gets 3 1/2 years for $3M fraud," Aug. 12, 2021. https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2021/8/12/22622136/ex-merrill-lynch-adviser-stole-dixmoor-5-gets-3-1-2-years-3-million-fraud
4. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release No. 25178, Aug. 20, 2021. https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-25178
5. CourtListener, SEC v. Boggs, No. 1:19-cv-05672 (N.D. Ill.), docket. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16102342/united-states-securities-and-exchange-commission-v-boggs/

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