Jose Luis Magana/AP
FILE – In this Nov. 28, 2018, file photo, the Department of Justice seal is seen in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
On Tuesday, a Santa Maria investment adviser pleaded guilty to defrauding her firm’s elderly clients out of millions of dollars, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Julie Darrah, 52, ran a Santa Maria-based investment advisory business called Vivid Financial Management Inc. (VFM).
Prosecutors say she stole approximately $2.25 million from her clients between November 2016 and July 2023.
In October 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against Darrah and VFM in connection to the scheme. In December 2024, a U.S. District judge found her liable to pay back her clients $2,416,511.
DOJ officials say Darrah abused the trust her victims placed in her, accusing the defendant of manipulating her elderly clients into believing she would take care of them in their older years, like a daughter.
Darrah would then use this trust to persuade her victims to sign documents giving her the ability to transfer funds from their bank accounts into other accounts, including her own.
The DOJ says Darrah used the stolen funds to buy properties for herself, purchase luxury vehicles and operate other business ventures.
Some of her victims were reportedly left in desperate circumstances, without the money to pay for end-of-life care.
Prosecutors say Darrah also convinced a Minnesota-based investment adviser firm to acquire VFM based on false and misleading statements, which resulted in the company incurring more than $5 million in losses.
A U.S. District judge has set Darrah’s sentencing hearing for May 19, 2025.
She faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
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