Until recently, Earl Jones seemed like the kind of guy one would like as a friend, or at least invite to a party. Those closest to him describe the financial planner as charming and fun, adored by children, devoted father to two daughters. He was generous, quick to pay for drinks, and could be counted on to show up at weddings, funerals and hospital bedsides. “You felt that he really felt your pain when a tragedy struck, and went out of his way to be sympathetic and supportive,” his sister-in-law Frances Gordon said.
Then in June, the monthly checks he issued to his clients for decades stopped coming or bounced, and Mr. Jones, 67, stopped taking calls. Investors got a sick feeling in their stomach. They began to fear the generosity of a man known to many as Uncle Earl had been coming directly out of their life savings, and his appearance at funerals and weddings might not have been so selfless after all.
