Ex-Advisor Who Tried to Flee Prosecution Sentenced to 9 Years

What You Need to Know

Steven Xigoros of Massachusetts defrauded clients of more than $4.3 million and failed to pay taxes, according to prosecutors.
He was arrested while trying to board a flight to Greece shortly before his trial.

The ex-advisor who was arrested Sept. 16 at Newark Liberty International Airport while trying to flee prosecution from defrauding his clients out of over $4.3 million was sentenced Thursday to more than nine years in prison, according to court documents and Rachael S. Rollins, U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts.

Steven Xigoros, 55, of Lowell, Massachusetts, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Boston by Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 109 months in prison, plus two years of supervised release.

Based on all the charges, he had faced up to 25 years in prison, according to Rollins.

He was also ordered to pay $4.8 million in restitution to individual victims and the Internal Revenue Service and forfeiture of $4.3 million.

In October 2022, Xigoros pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of filing a false tax return.

Between 2015 and 2021, Xigoros used his position as an advisor, accountant and tax preparer to misappropriate millions of dollars from his clients, Rollins said Thursday in a news release.

He convinced clients to entrust their money with him, to make various investments, to purchase securities and to lend him money for purported business ventures, according to the indictment against him, filed Sept. 21, 2021.