Former Madison wealth adviser Thomas V. Demergian, 63, faces a 4.5-year federal prison sentence for defrauding investors out of roughly $1.8 million since 2000, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The sentence, administered last Thursday, comes after he pled guilty in April to wire fraud and federal tax evasion.
Demergian last year agreed to close his business, Insight Wealth Management, which he ran from his home in the Hawk’s Landing neighborhood on the far west side of Madison. He had persuaded some clients to invest money through “IRT Co.,” promising to invest their money with real estate trusts and mutual funds but, in reality, diverting those funds to a bank account in his name.
Demergian provided fictitious investment portfolio summary documents showing positive growth in annual meetings with clients. Clients who asked him to liquidate their investments were told the decision was imprudent or provided with other false reasons preventing the action.
The fraud scheme was uncovered in 2023. An investigation revealed that Demergian had used clients’ money for travel, cars, gambling, and collectibles, among other personal expenses. He also failed to disclose over $400,000 in illegally obtained income, underreporting on his tax returns from 2017–22 and thus evading $104,779 in tax obligations.
Under Demergian’s plea agreement, he will pay restitution of $1.3 million, with an initial payment of $208,000 at the time of sentencing. All assets apart from a few that are exempt will be liquidated immediately. Demergian last year sold his home for $567,000.
