Lowell man sentenced for defrauding clients, including elderly couple, of millions

A Lowell man who worked as a money manager was sentenced Thursday to more than nine years in prison for defrauding clients of millions of dollars. 

Steven Xigoros, 55, had attempted to flee to Greece before his trial, according to U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins’s office. 

Xigoros worked as an accountant, tax preparer, and investment advisor. Between 2015 and 2021, he used these positions to misappropriate millions of dollars from his clients, officials said. Clients trusted him with their money, allowing him to use it to make investments, purchase securities, and pursue purported business ventures.  

Xigoros used those dollars to pay for his own personal expenses, including making payments against gambling debts, officials said. 

“Mr. Xigoros used his position to steal millions of dollars from his trusting clients. His victims saw him as a reliable, safe investment advisor – he had years of professional experience and many of the victims’ trust as a fellow member of their close-knit Greek community. Eventually, as his gambling debts grew, Mr. Xigoros chose to abuse this trust and rob his clients of more than $4.3 million,” Rollins said in a statement. 

To deceive his clients, officials said Xigoros lied about how their money was purportedly invested and when he would repay it. 

The $4.3 million that Xigoros stole included the entire life savings of one elderly couple. They gave him more than $1.3 million to make investments on their behalf, prosecutors said. 

Xigoros also failed to report the misappropriated funds as income, and owed the Internal Revenue Service more than $1 million. 

Xigoros was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey while on pre-trial release. He was attempting to board a flight to Greece approximately two months before he was set to stand trial. 

Xigoros pleaded guilty in October 2022 to two counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of filing a false tax return. He was sentenced to 109 months in prison and two years of supervised release. He must also pay millions in restitution and forfeiture. 

“Steven Xigoros stole millions from his long-time clients, betraying their trust, and cheating taxpayers, primarily to pay off his gambling debts,” Joseph R. Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, said in a statement. “Equally troubling is that he took advantage of some of those closest to him, including wiping out an elderly couple’s entire life savings.”

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