Chicago trader convicted of fraud in $30 million unauthorized bond trading scheme

CHICAGO - A 50-year-old Chicago man has been found guilty of unauthorized trading that led to his employer and others losing more than $30 million. 

Keith Wakefield, of Chicago, was convicted Wednesday on one count of securities fraud and three counts of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. 

Each count is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. 

According to evidence presented during Wakefield's trial, he worked as the head of fixed-income trading for IFS Securities, Inc. when, in 2019, he took part in unauthorized speculative trading in U.S. Treasury bonds. 

Wakefield used his employer's accounts for the trading, which led to more than $30 million in losses for IFS Securities, Inc. and others, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. 

Officials say he tried to conceal the trades and losses by entering fake off-setting trades into a clearing broker's order system. 

Wakefield created "the false impression that he had profitably traded through a different clearing broker," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. 

Then, from 2017 to 2019, Wakefield embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from his employer by "falsifying the company's books and records to create fake commissions," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. 

Wakefield's sentencing still has yet to be determined. A date for his sentencing has not yet been set.