WEST HOLLYWOOD/HOLLYWOOD—On Tuesday, May 5, 2026, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office announced that David Peter Bloom, 62, known as the “Wall Street Whiz Kid,” pleaded no contest to 18 felony counts stemming from an investment scam that grossed close to $250,000.
Bloom pleaded no contest to nine felony counts of securities fraud and nine felony counts of grand theft, along with special allegations that he engaged in a pattern of theft-related felony conduct and had two or more prior felony convictions.
Bloom entered an open plea to the Court, meaning he pleaded no contest to all charges and admitted all allegations without any agreement as to sentencing, leaving that decision to the judge. He is expected to be sentenced to a total of 10 years in state prison. Sentencing is set to take place June 8 in Department 117 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
Between 2021 and 2023, Bloom cultivated close relationships with the victims, identified their vulnerabilities, and exploited trust to extract lots of money from them. He stole from multiple victims by convincing them to give him money to invest on their behalf.
Bloom did not use the money to invest; it was used to support his own lavish lifestyle. He did not disclose to victims that he was barred for life by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission from acting as a broker and, as a result, was not authorized to broker securities transactions.
He was convicted twice of defrauding investors of more than $15 million in the 1980s. In 1988, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused him of using his unregistered investment business to collect over $10 million between 1985 and 1988 from over 140 clients for his personal gain. He was accused of acquiring art, real estate and other personal assets with his clients’ funds. Bloom settled with the SEC without admitting guilt and had to hand over assets as part of the agreement.
He was charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for violations of the registration and antifraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. He pleaded guilty, waiving indictment, to one count each of mail and securities fraud and spent 8 years in prison. On August 9, 2022, he was arrested on suspicion of 12 county of grand theft in Los Angeles. He was released after posting a $45,000 bail.
He was later arrested on August 28, 2023, and charged with 18 felony counts, where District Attorney George Gascón noted Bloom stole nearly $250,000 from nine alleged victims.
Case BA516916 was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec, with assistance from attorney Danielle Stoumbos of the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Complex Financial Crimes Division.
