Investment Manager Admits Taking $1.3 Million From Clients
An investment manager pleaded guilty Tuesday to taking $1.3 million of his clients’ funds for his personal and business use, prosecutors said.
Benjamin Franklin Bush III, owner of Ben Bush Investment Management, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 when he is sentenced June 29.
Bush, 53, of Pacific Palisades, was accused of persuading clients to invest in small companies, directing them to deposit money in bank accounts controlled by him and then pocketing the money, Assistant U.S. Atty. Barbara Scheper said.
Bush was already the focus of civil action by Securities and Exchange Commission regulators. The status of that case was unknown Tuesday.
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