Florida Advisor Stephen T. Mellinger III Allegedly Defrauded the IRS

Stephen T. Mellinger III, a former Florida financial advisor, has reportedly been indicted in Mississippi for operating an allegedly illegal multimillion-dollar tax shelter scheme. Mellinger, who reportedly faces up to 68 years in prison, allegedly conspired to defraud the IRS by purportedly advising clients to transfer funds to companies he controlled, reportedly claiming these transfers as tax deductions labeled as “royalty” payments. He allegedly charged clients a fee while returning the funds to their bank accounts.

Mellinger reportedly earned over $3 million in fees and allegedly used some of the proceeds to buy a home in Delray Beach, Florida. He is also accused of laundering stolen funds from a separate healthcare fraud scheme tied to TRICARE, a Department of Defense program.

He was charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S., aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering.

Mellinger, who was a registered representative for 19 years until 2016, reportedly has a history of customer complaints, including a 2021 settlement for $227,525 in a case involving alleged misrepresentations about charitable deductions.

FINRA BrokerCheck – Stephen Mellinger III

The FINRA BrokerCheck tool is a free online tool that allows investors to research and verify the background and credentials of financial brokers, brokerage firms, and investment advisors registered with FINRA.

Investors can use the tool to verify whether a broker or brokerage firm is registered with FINRA, as well as to review their employment history, licensing status, and any regulatory actions or complaints filed against them.

Stephen Mellinger III (CRD# 2819752) reportedly has 6 customer complaints on his record. Mellinger was reportedly registered with the following brokerage firms during his career in the securities industry:

11/18/2009 – 01/29/2016 NYLIFE SECURITIES LLC (CRD#:5167) NILES, MI
08/11/1997 – 03/02/2007 NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL INVESTMENT SERVICES, LLC (CRD#:2881) VALPARAISO, IN
08/11/1997 – 01/01/2002 ROBERT W. BAIRD & CO. INCORPORATED (CRD#:8158) MILWAUKEE, WI

Regulation Best Interest

Under the “Regulation best interest” standard, broker-dealers are obligated to perform due diligence when evaluating any investment.  If your financial advisor fails to perform due diligence on an investment before recommending it to you, they could be held liable for investment losses.

If your advisor unsuitably recommended an investment offering and you lost money, the securities attorneys at The White Law Group may be able to file a complaint for you. You may be able to recover losses by filing a FINRA Arbitration claim against the brokerage firm that sold you the investment.

Free Consultation with National Securities Attorneys  

If you have suffered investment losses with Stephen Mellinger III, the securities attorneys at the White Law Group may be able to help you. For a free consultation with a securities attorney, please call (888) 637-5510.

About the White Law Group

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm dedicated to helping investors in claims in all 50 states against their financial professional or brokerage firm. Since the firm launched in 2010, it has handled over 700 FINRA arbitration cases.

Our firm represents investors in all types of securities related claims, including claims involving stock fraud, broker misrepresentation, churning, unsuitable investments, selling away, and unauthorized trading, among many others.

With over 30 years of securities law experience, The White Law Group has the expertise to help investors to recover their securities fraud losses.