Wheaton Transfer-Agent Owner Robert Pearson Pleads Guilty to Misusing Client Funds

Case from 2015–2020 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Nov. 13, 2015; 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 Pearson, owner and chief executive of Wheaton-based Illinois Stock Transfer Co., which did business as IST Shareholder Services, was indicted in November 2015 on 10 counts of wire fraud, accused of taking more than $1.2 million from a client fund account to cover his company's payroll and tax bills, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1].

Outcome: Pearson pleaded guilty to wire fraud in April 2016 and agreed he had misappropriated at least $1,494,000 belonging to customers and shareholders, according to a VitalLaw summary of the plea agreement [2]. The court docket shows a judgment (sentencing order) entered on Oct. 28, 2016 [3], and a later SEC civil judgment refers to restitution ordered in the criminal case [4]. We could not find the length of his sentence in public sources.

How the scheme worked

According to the indictment as summarized by prosecutors [1]:

1. The business: IST acted as a transfer agent, recording changes in securities ownership, reinvesting dividends for shareholders of client companies and repurchasing shares after mergers or acquisitions.
2. The misuse: From February 2012 until about February 2014, Pearson took money from a client fund account at BMO Harris Bank to meet IST's payroll and tax obligations.
3. The cover: He told clients IST followed SEC rules requiring transfer agents to safeguard customer funds, and represented to customers, the SEC and an outside accountant that the money was secure.

The SEC, which said Pearson admitted the scheme when its examiners questioned him, obtained an emergency asset freeze and a court-appointed receiver over the firm in May 2014 [5].

The person charged

Robert Pearson, 58 when indicted, Winfield, Ill.

• Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, case No. 15 CR 676, before U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang.
• Charges: 10 counts of wire fraud (indictment returned Nov. 12, 2015).
• Plea: guilty to wire fraud, April 2016 [2].
• Sentence: judgment entered Oct. 28, 2016; terms not found in public sources [3].
• SEC civil case: a final judgment entered Jan. 8, 2020, ordered disgorgement of $1,138,048.96, deemed satisfied by the criminal restitution and the receiver's distributions [4].

Red flags

• Dividend or merger payments that arrive late or not at all from a transfer agent or paying agent.
• A small financial firm that keeps client money in accounts it also uses for its own expenses.
• Vague answers when you ask where your funds are held.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Confirm a transfer agent's SEC registration and ask the issuing company which agent it uses.
2. Report problems to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Robert Pearson, Winfield, Ill.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Chang), 15 CR 676	Pleaded guilty April 2016 to wire fraud; judgment entered Oct. 28, 2016 (sentence length not found); SEC final judgment Jan. 8, 2020	[2], [3], [4]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Owner of Wheaton Financial Firm Indicted on Federal Charges of Fraud and Misappropriation of Funds," Nov. 13, 2015. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/owner-wheaton-financial-firm-indicted-federal-charges-fraud-and-misappropriation-funds
2. VitalLaw, "Stock transfer company CEO pleads guilty to misappropriating $1.5 million in customer funds," 2016. https://www.vitallaw.com/news/fraud-and-manipulation-n-d-ill-stock-transfer-company-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-misappropriating-1-5-million-in-customer-funds/sld012c02b0d67c6e10009dc890b11c18c9020a
3. CourtListener, United States v. Pearson, No. 1:15-cr-00676 (N.D. Ill.), docket. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5629946/united-states-v-pearson/
4. U.S. District Court (N.D. Ill.), SEC v. Robert G. Pearson and Illinois Stock Transfer Co., Final Judgment as to Robert G. Pearson, Jan. 8, 2020. https://www.sec.gov/files/Judg14-cv-03785Pearson.pdf
5. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release No. 23007, Robert G. Pearson and Illinois Stock Transfer Company. https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-23007

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