Cranston Man Posing as Financial Adviser Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud
PROVIDENCE – A Cranston man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island for falsely represented himself as a financial advisor worth a “million dollars in clients.”
Jason Johnson, 53, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Johnson was indicted in March 2025 and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 27, 2026. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
According to court documents, Johnson falsely represented himself as a financial advisor and accepted approximately $140,000 from a Rhode Island couple through the now-defunct W.S. Solutions LLC. Johnson diverted much of the investment funds into two bank accounts he controlled and spent most of the couple’s invested funds on personal expenditures.
Johnson failed to respond to repeated inquiries from the investors. Additionally, he failed to provide them with statements of investment activity, tracking reports, or summaries. Instead, he sent electronic communications assuring them that their accounts were being serviced and they would receive distributions of profits at a later date.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lee H. Vilker.
The matter was investigated jointly by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.