The Securities and Exchange Commission said it has reached an agreement to settle charges against a Georgia-based advisor who allegedly stole more than $9.8 million from an elderly client.
Ejiro Ode Okuma, 43, of Smyrna, Ga., was previously registered with Equitable Advisors from May 2023 to June 2025, when the firm suspended him for misappropriating funds of a non-Equitable client, according to his BrokerCheck profile.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority barred Okuma in December, citing the investigation. Prior to that, he was with Edward Jones.
The SEC has accused him of breaching his fiduciary duties when, in February 2023, he opened a brokerage account for one of his clients’ trusts and transferred more than $9 million from the client’s other accounts. The client was an 81-year-old man. He then used the funds for himself, building a multi-million-dollar residence and buying vehicles and vacation homes.
“Okuma facilitated the fraud by, among other means, electronically impersonating the client to access the brokerage account, forging the client’s signature on checks, and transferring funds from the client’s accounts to Okuma’s own bank account and other accounts over which he had control,” the complaint said.
The SEC complaint also said Okuma never transferred the client’s accounts when he moved to Equitable from Edward Jones, even though he said he did.
Okuma agreed to be permanently enjoined from violating the charged provisions; he’ll pay $13 million in disgorgement and penalties.
A spokesperson for Equitable did not immediately return a request for comment.
