Financial Planner Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Clients Out of $1.5 Million

A Monmouth County insurance salesman and financial advisor pleaded guilty on Feb. 4 to charges of defrauding 21 clients out of approximately $1.5 million, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office announced today.

Jordan L. Zemlock, 50, of the Morganville section of Marlboro Township, pleaded guilty to a count of theft by failure to make the required disposition of property received, and he admitted cheating his clients out of their investments between Aug. 2009 and March 2012.

Zemlock was arrested in April, 2012, for the third time in four weeks after a client became suspicious of his advice and declined to give him $129,000 before contacting police, the prosecutor's office said.

A subsequent investigation revealed that Zemlock accepted over $300,000 from five other clients and promised them that he would invest the money, but then diverted it for his personal use, according to the prosecutor's office.  

Zemlock, who owns the JayZee Financial Group, told a 74-year-old victim from South Brunswick that his money was being invested in an Allianz Insurance account during November, 2011 according to police.

The victim then noticed that funds were missing from his account statement, and he asked Zemlock for an explanation. Police said Zemlock told the victim that he put the funds in the wrong account. The victim eventually reported the fraud to police during the first week of February 2012.

Investigators discovered that the victim's money was allegedly placed into Zemlock's personal account and was used for his personal expenses, according to police.

Authorities said Zemlock used the money to make a $1,109 payment on his Mercedes Benz, spent $714 to purchase a designer purse from Michael Kors, spent $1,364 on a Louis Vuitton women’s designer purse, spent $497 at Gucci, spent $1,083 at Saks 5th Ave, made a $4,000 credit card payment, and spent $476 on tickets to a Phoenix Suns game.

Following the charges in the South Brunswick fraud case, from Zemlock. Zemlock was then charged with theft by deception and two counts of witness tampering, for allegedly asking investors not to speak with police about the missing funds.

An investigation by South Brunswick Police Det. Ronald Seaman and Investigator Donald Heck of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office determined that Zemlock was operating his business out of his home in Marlboro. In addition to an insurance license New Jersey, Zemlock was also licensed to conduct business in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota.

As part of a plea agreement, Zemlock will be sentenced to serve up to 10 years in state prison and must repay the 21 clients a total of $1,466,246 when he appears in New Brunswick for sentencing on April 12.