And then there's also the question of actual deposits, which would still have to be sent to somewhere - intentionally - and given as those were represented, afaik, as deposits and not buying shares in a high-risk hedge fund, that alone constitutes separate fraud, regardless of how he tried to cover it up afterwards. If I tell you "if you give me $1000 I'll keep them safe and return them to you anytime you want" and then I take these money and go gambling to Vegas, I can't say "I was just not paying attention, sorry". I knew I promised to keep them for you and gambled with them instead.