Financial adviser accused of taking $150K from elderly client

A Springfield business consultant and financial adviser has been charged with the theft of $150,000 from an elderly client who has since died.

Vaughn Henry, 64, of Hyde Park Place was indicted last week by a Sangamon County grand jury on charges of theft of more than $100,000, financial exploitation of the elderly, money laundering and wire fraud. The three most serious charges are Class 1 felonies punishable by four to 15 years in prison.

Henry, the principal of Henry and Associates, was in court Thursday to request a public defender. When asked by Associate Circuit Judge Brian Otwell if he had any assets, Henry said he had $100,000 equity in his home.

Otwell provisionally appointed the Sangamon County public defender’s office to represent Henry at his next court appearance on Monday.

Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser said Henry had a fiduciary role in the affairs of a 99-year-old woman and took $150,000 of her money and did not return it.

Henry took the woman’s money in January 2013 to invest it, but transferred the funds to his own accounts in late 2013 and early 2014, Milhiser said.

The victim died in October 2014.

Milhiser said the case was investigated by the Springfield Police Department, which is seeking possible additional victims. More charges also are possible, he said.

Henry specializes in management of livestock and horse-breeding facilities, planned giving, business succession, estate planning and conservation, according to his LinkedIn account. He established Henry and Associates in 1977.

Henry is being held in the Sangamon County Jail on $750,000 bond.

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Financial adviser accused of taking $150K from elderly client