ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla — A former Fidelity Investments employee in Jacksonville is facing fraud and money laundering charges after prosecutors say he defrauded a former client out of $2 million to spend it on gambling, personal travel and debts. 

On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida announced the return of an indictment charging Eric James Stone, 42, with 10 counts of fraud and five counts of money laundering.

In June 2021, court documents show that Stone was fired from Fidelity Investments due to allegations that he had solicited and obtained loans from his clients. Stone had been employed with Fidelity in Jacksonville since 2007 as a financial industry regulatory authority registered representative, court records show.

Prosecutors say that after he was terminated, Stone began soliciting money from his former clients through personal loans and never paid back the funds.

A former client of Stone gave him a loan, prosecutors say, and later learned he was under investigation for not paying back previous loans. Stone allegedly used fake email accounts, sent fake text messages and pretended to hire attorneys to further defraud the former client.

The alleged scheme to defraud the former client took place from November 2022 to August 2024. Prosecutors say that in total, the former client gave Stone more than $2 million, which he used to fund gambling, personal travel and to pay personal debts.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville believes Stone could have defrauded additional victims. Anyone who believes they were defrauded by Stone is asked to contact FBI Jacksonville at 904-248-7000 or submit information here.