Navy Veteran Robert L. Murray Jr. Sentenced to 2 Years for Deep Dive Strategies Fund That Lost Navy Investors' Money on GameStop

Case from 2022–2025 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Dec. 14, 2022; later developments are from court records and other sources cited below). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Robert L. Murray Jr., a U.S. Navy veteran from Chicago, was sentenced April 30, 2025, to 24 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $112,171.71 in restitution. Prosecutors had charged him with defrauding investors in his fund, Deep Dive Strategies LLC, including retired and active-duty Navy members [1] [2]. He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Jan. 14, 2025.

How the scheme worked

According to the December 2022 indictment, as described by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois [1]:

1. The persona. After leaving the Navy, Murray traded securities online from home now and then. He founded Deep Dive Strategies LLC, which he said invested in publicly traded securities.
2. The pitch. On social media, he presented himself as a skilled, successful options trader with an effective trading algorithm, and he recruited investors that way, including retired and active-duty Navy members.
3. What happened to the money. According to the indictment, he did not invest all of it and spent some on shopping, restaurants and travel. He lost most of the money he did trade on a highly risky bet on the "meme stock" GameStop.
4. Stonewalling. When investors asked for an accounting, the indictment says, he ignored or refused them.

The indictment said investors lost everything they gave him, more than $342,000 in total. The court ordered $112,171.71 in restitution [1] [2].

The person sentenced

Robert L. Murray Jr., 43 at indictment, Chicago (N.D. Ill. No. 1:22-cr-00643)

• Charges: indicted in December 2022 on four counts of wire fraud [1].
• Plea: guilty to Count 4 under a written plea agreement on Jan. 14, 2025 [2].
• Sentence: U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah sentenced him April 30, 2025, to 24 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release, and ordered $112,171.71 in restitution. Counts 1 through 3 were dismissed on the government's motion [2].
• Investigation: the FBI, with help from the SEC [1]. The SEC also brought a separate civil case, which court records show was still being litigated in 2025 [2].

Red flags

• A fellow service member or veteran pitching a private trading fund on social media.
• Claims of a secret or proven "algorithm" with no audited track record.
• Refusing to give account statements or an accounting when investors ask.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Check registration at adviserinfo.sec.gov and BrokerCheck. Unregistered fund managers soliciting the public are a major warning sign.
2. Service members can get free financial counseling through Military OneSource and read the SEC's investor alerts for military investors at investor.gov.
3. Report suspected fraud to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr or the FBI at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Robert L. Murray Jr., Chicago	N.D. Ill. (1:22-cr-00643)	Pleaded guilty to wire fraud Jan. 14, 2025; sentenced April 30, 2025, to 24 months, 3 years of supervised release, $112,171.71 restitution	[1], [2]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "U.S. Navy Veteran Indicted for Allegedly Swindling Navy Members in Investment Fraud Scheme," Dec. 14, 2022. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/us-navy-veteran-indicted-allegedly-swindling-navy-members-investment-fraud-scheme
2. CourtListener, United States v. Murray, No. 1:22-cr-00643 (N.D. Ill.), docket entries including the Jan. 14, 2025, change-of-plea order and the April 30, 2025, judgment. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66633543/united-states-v-murray/

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