Shillin's behind-bars marriage won't shield financial records, judge rules

Aug. 3—EAU CLAIRE — A former Altoona financial adviser's recent marriage while behind bars will not stop a federal bankruptcy official from getting joint bank account records.

Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge G. Michael Halfenger of the Eastern District of Wisconsin ordered Monday that the spousal privilege invoked by Michael F. Shillin's new wife does not apply to the financial documents sought by a trustee.

"For one thing, it is difficult to imagine how information about and records of accounts with third-party financial institutions that Ms. Romatoski has jointly held with the debtor (and certain related entities) could ever constitute information privately and confidentially disclosed between spouses," the judge wrote in his order.

Ashley Romatoski of Wausau had filed her objection to providing banking records to the bankruptcy court through a July 25 email. She cited both spousal privilege and the Fifth Amendment in her opposition to turning over the financial documents.

With her email, Romatoski included an electronic copy of a marriage license for Shillin and her issued in Provo, Utah. The marriage was dated July 18 — one week after the trustee first sought the banking records.

U.S. Trustee Patrick S. Layng filed a motion on July 11 requesting statements for any joint accounts between the couple from January 2020 through this June.

The judge's order noted that those financial papers would be from before the couple were wed.

"The United States trustee seems to be seeking only information and records that predate Ms. Romatoski and the debtor's very recent marriage," Halfenger wrote. "The cloak of secrecy in which the law now enshrouds their private marital communications does not billow backward in time to the prenuptial periods relevant to the United States trustee's inquiries."

As for Romatoski's mention of the Fifth Amendment, the judge said her email does not indicate a reason why providing those documents would be used against her in any potential future criminal proceeding.

Halfenger ordered Romatoski to provide the requested documents by Aug. 12 and then appear at an Aug. 17 meeting with the trustee.

The marriage to Romatoski happened while Shillin was in jail while a federal criminal case against him is proceeding. The Sauk County Jail confirmed to the Leader-Telegram that Shillin has been held there for the past two months, including the date he wed Romatoski.

The copy of the marriage license provided to the court shows the couple signed their marriage license digitally on July 18. Marriage licenses are issued online and through virtual office visits, as well as in-person, according to the Utah County Clerk/Auditor's website.

Shillin has been held in jail since he violated terms of his release in the fraud case by taking an unauthorized five-night tropical vacation with Romatoski in early April to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A report from a probation official on the violation included Shillin's mention of a joint checking account he had with then-girlfriend Romatoski. That account had not been listed in Shillin's bankruptcy filing, which prompted Layng's motion seeking documents for it.

Shillin filed for Chapter 7 in late November. He claims to have $173,784 in assets, but $1.84 million in liabilities, according to an amended filing made in January.

Attorneys David Van Lieshout, Jonathan Van Geffen and James Lewis, who had represented Shillin in the bankruptcy case, withdrew in early May due to their client ignoring or disagreeing their legal advice, according to court documents. Since then, Shillin has been representing himself in that case.

Shillin, 33, who once ran a wealth management firm in Altoona, is currently awaiting an Aug. 25 sentencing on federal criminal fraud charges.

In May he pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and bank fraud. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for bank fraud is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The federal indictment against Shillin stated he lied to clients of Shillin Wealth Management about their investments to keep them artificially happy so they'd invest more money. This included telling clients he'd bought them shares in a company that isn't publicly traded, convincing clients to buy insurance policies by misrepresenting costs and benefits, and making fraudulent documents indicating clients would get big tax breaks.

Shillin also got $462,000 in loans from Northwestern Bank by providing a statement showing $1.25 million in collateral, which actually belonged to a client and not his firm.

While it was in business, Shillin Wealth Management handled 2,992 accounts with nearly $135.5 million in assets in them, according to a financial report provided to the court.

Shillin started the firm in mid-2018 and ran it until it closed in late 2020 while he was under investigation.

In January, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission barred Shillin from being a financial adviser, following similar bans imposed by Wisconsin regulators and the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency.