Former CNBC financial analyst James Arthur McDonald faces decades behind bars after defrauding investors out of at least $2.7 million, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Feb. 19.
McDonald, 53, a former resident of Arcadia, Calif., agreed to plead guilty to one count of securities fraud, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
“This defendant was entrusted by his clients to care for their money and he violated that trust by using it to enrich himself,” said acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally.
In June 2024, federal officers arrested McDonald in Washington state, where he fled in 2021 to avoid appearing before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
At his Washington hideout, officers found a fake Washington, D.C., driver’s license bearing McDonald’s photograph and the name “Brian Thomas,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
McDonald was the CEO and chief investment officer of two companies headquartered in Los Angeles—Hercules Investments LLC and Index Strategy Advisors Inc. He also often appeared on the CNBC financial news network.
Hellbound and Down 