At the time of the incident, Isaiah Thomas Williams Jr. was a vice president at Merrill Lynch. Merrill Lynch is also being sued for damages and failure to supervise their advisor properly amongst claims that the bank has a fiduciary duty to safeguard the client’s assets. The money stolen during 133 transfers from Reshad Jones’ Bank of America account including transfers to Isaiah Williams American Express cards during these four years.
Isaiah Williams Jr. had received complaints from clients before this incident. In 2024 he had a customer complaint that was denied, another customer dispute that is pending, and a regulatory allegation of misrepresentation and improper OBA’s. After this incident, Merrill Lynch filed a form U5 stating that Williams voluntarily resigned while under internal review into allegations of misappropriation, unsuitable asset allocation, misrepresentations and an improper business activity. He is permanently barred from the industry, arrested (now out on bail) and charged with felony grand theft, fraud, money laundering and criminal use of personal information.
Williams involved his coworker to help him and allegedly took more than $1 million through various accounts and is currently in custody with $75,000 bail.
This case is a stark reminder that professional athletes, affluent investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals are susceptible to mismanagement and being taken advantage of, even by professionals working at large banks.
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