SLO County financial adviser convicted of defrauding elderly clients of $2.25 million
A Central Coast financial adviser who admitted to defrauding elderly clients for years pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court Tuesday.
Julie Darrah, ran Vivid Financial Management Inc., an SEC-registered investment adviser firm with locations in Arroyo Grande, Orcutt and Lompoc, from 2015 to 2021, according to court documents.
Darrah agreed to a plea agreement on Nov. 22 prior to being charged on Dec. 5, according to court documents.
In the plea agreement, she admitted to stealing about $2.25 million from her investment advisory clients — nearly all of whom were elderly and at least some of whom were receiving end-of-life care, court documents said.
“(Darrah) took advantage of these victims’ vulnerable circumstances in stealing money from individuals who were least able to protect themselves or recover from losses,” court documents said.
Some of the clients were left in “desperate circumstances” without money to pay for their end-of-life care, a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice said.
“Our seniors should never have to question whether their money is safe. She will now be held accountable for her actions,” acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally said in the news release.
Darrah gained control of their assets by having clients give her standing letters of authorization, make her a trustee of their trusts, make her a signatory on bank accounts and power of attorney over their property, including bank and brokerage accounts.
Once she had control of her clients’ assets, she liquidated securities held in their accounts and transferred cash from those accounts to her personal bank accounts, blending the stolen funds with her personal funds and money from her other ventures, court documents said.
Darrah used the inflated funds to buy and improve properties, pay her personal expenses, buy luxury vehicles and operate other business ventures.
Financial adviser stole from elderly clients for years
Darrah admitted to taking part in a scheme to defraud her investment advisory clients from November 2016 through July 2023 at her Arroyo Grande office, court documents show.
Court documents lay out eight instances in which Darrah defrauded 11 elderly clients through similar means.
On Oct. 6, 2015, a 75-year-old widow, identified as S.S. in court documents, hired Darrah to manage her personal brokerage accounts and her trust’s brokerage accounts.
Darrah had the widow execute a standing letter of authorization to give her access to the widow’s bank accounts. Darrah was then appointed as the trustee of the widow’s trust in April 2017, which gave Darrah the power to manage and invest all of the trust’s property — including the widow’s bank and brokerage accounts.
By October 2017, all of S.S.’s bank and brokerage statements were addressed to a home owned by Darrah.
Darrah ultimately misappropriated $1,057,800 by selling all of S.S.’s securities held in the brokerage account without the widow’s knowledge or consent, according to the documents. Darrah then used the authorization letter to transfer the proceeds to the bank account and took funds out of the bank account for her personal benefit.
Darrah transferred $631,975 to herself, $190,000 to her food service business, $200,000 to a third party to buy a business she already held in her name, $3,500 to a different client and $2,240 to the financial business.
By July 31, 2023, S.S.’s bank and brokerage accounts had $87,032 left. The widow’s only source of regular income outside of her investments was her social security payment of $1,631 per month.
S.S.’s memory care facility, where she’s been living since April 2022, costs $7,845 per month.
Darrah then did the same thing to S.S.’s older sister — a 78-year-old widow who was identified in court documents as M.S. — when she was hired to manage M.S.’s personal accounts and her trust’s brokerage accounts.
Darrah used her control of M.S.’s accounts and assets to misappropriate $578,400 and sold nearly all of the securities held in M.S.’s brokerage accounts without M.S.’s knowledge or consent, according to the court documents.
In total, Darrah transferred $515,400 to herself and $63,000 to her food service business.
M.S.’s total balance left in her accounts was $24,605. Her only source of regular income outside investments was her monthly social security payment of $2,027.
Darrah was also hired by an 82-year-old widow, identified as C.H., in March 2022.
That client gave Darrah power of attorney that appointed Darrah as her agent and gave Darrah power over C.H’s personal and real property. Darrah also gained access to C.H.’s bank and brokerage accounts in similar means that she did to S.S. and M.S., the court documents said.
Darrah misappropriated $242,000 — $236,500 was transferred to Darrah herself and $5,500 to another bank account Darrah controlled — without C.H.’s knowledge or consent, the documents said.
She also misappropriated funds from trusts and inheritances that were supposed to benefit Darrah’s client’s children.
She also convinced a Minnesota company to acquire Vivid Financial Management Inc.
Court documents do not name the company, but a 2021 news release shows Wealth Enhancement Group, based in Minneapolis, acquired Darrah’s business.
The acquisition caused the Minnesota company to lose approximate $5.4 million after Darrah’s fraud was discovered, court documents said.
What happens next?
The plea agreement was formally filed with the court on Dec. 5. Darrah and the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not agree on a specific sentence for the crime, but rather agreed to sentencing factors for the judge to consider.
The maximum sentence Darrah faces is 151 months in prison, court documents said, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office requested Darrah to pay at least $7.7 million in restitution.
During her change of plea hearing Tuesday, Darrah entered her guilty plea and U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II asked her to make a statement that was “from the heart” at her sentencing, scheduled for May 19.
Darrah was also found liable to pay $2,416,511 in December in response to a separate civil complaint filed by the SEC.
This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 1:43 PM.
