$3M Investment Fraud: Stony Point Man Admits To Targeting Friends, Community Members, Feds Say
A Rockland County man has admitted in federal court that he defrauded investors and raised millions of dollars from friends, relatives, and members of his community.
Stony Point resident Solomon Lichtenstein, 30, the founder of Taraxa Capital Fund, LP and Lightstone Trading Inc. pleaded guilty on Wednesday, March 11 to securities fraud before US Magistrate Judge Victoria Reznik in Manhattan, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Prosecutors said Lichtenstein orchestrated the scheme between July 2022 and August 2024, soliciting investments f…
83-Year-Old PA Man Murdered Over $30K Scam; Killer Gets Life Sentence, Here's What Happened
A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering an 83-year-old he swindled out of $30,000, Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele announced on Friday, July 11.
Norman Fred Pennington, 67, was found guilty of First-Degree Murder in the April 2024 killing of Anthony Decenzo, a retired father and grandfather from Brownsville. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole immediately following the verdict.
Decenzo had last been seen leaving his home around 5 p.m. on Friday, April 12, 2024, to look at real estate. He never returned.
His family reported him missin…
$17M Scam Funded NJ Mini-Golf Buy-In, Lavish Life For PA Adviser: DOJ
A Main Line investment adviser stole millions from clients—including friends, relatives, and retirees—to bankroll a luxury lifestyle and buy into a Jersey Shore mini-golf course, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced on Saturday, July 5.
Scott Mason, 66, of Gladwyne, was sentenced on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, to eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a sweeping fraud scheme that lasted over a decade. The Department of Justice says Mason stole more than $17 million while running his firm, Rubicon Wealth Management LLC, and never reported a cent to the IRS.
Inste…
Lake George Inventor Defrauded Investors, Dodged Taxes While Living Large, Jury Finds
A New York man who promised big returns on patented inventions defrauded investors and failed to file tax returns, a federal jury found.
Michael Conner, 56, of Lake George, was convicted on 22 counts of wire fraud and related charges following an eight-day trial in Albany federal court on Thursday, April 10.
Conner portrayed himself as a successful inventor of household products such as a heated-blade knife, a paint bucket called the “Paint Caddy,” and a rotatable refrigerator shelf. But in reality, he never sold a single patent and hadn’t earned a dime in revenue from any of them, accordin…
$750K Stolen From Family, Friends In Financial Scam: Berks DA
A Berks County man is accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from family and friends over the course of more than a decade, authorities announced on Monday, April 7.
Santiago J. Torres, 41, of Sinking Spring, has been charged with 17 counts of Felony Theft by Deception, 11 counts of Felony Identity Theft, 11 counts of Felony Forgery, and seven counts of Felony Access Device Used to Obtain or Attempt to Obtain Property, according to Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams.
Detectives launched an investigation in August 2024 after multiple victims came forward with concer…
$5M Fraud: Great Neck Twin Financiers Threatened Witnesses, Fabricated Evidence, DOJ Says
Twin financiers Adam and Daniel Kaplan, already charged with defrauding elderly and disabled clients out of millions, are now accused of threatening witnesses and fabricating evidence.
The 35-year-old Kaplans, hailing from Long Island’s Great Neck, are named in a fresh superseding indictment that was filed in Central Islip federal court on Thursday, Feb. 20, charging them with an additional count of money laundering.
Adam Kaplan was additionally charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, and obstruction of justice, according to the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District.
The new charges pa…
Schemer From Aldie Who Bilked Investors Out Of $15M Learns His Fate: Feds
A Loudoun County man who bilked investors from up and down the East Coast out of millions of dollars will spend years behind bars.
Aldie resident Babu Ramaraj, 47, who owned DAB Inspection and Consulting Services, a small home contractor with modest revenues doing patio and deck projects, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for causing upwards of $15 million in losses, federal authorities announced.
His victims were primarily in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Missouri.
According to court documents, Ramaraj claimed to investors and potential …
$1B Scheme: Pair Of CEOs, Including Manhasset Man, Defrauded 10K Investors, Jury Finds
A New York resident was one of two CEOs convicted in federal court of a $1 billion fraud scheme involving thousands of investors.
Long Island resident David Gentile, age 57, of Manhasset, and Jeffry Schneider, age 55, of Austin, Texas, were found guilty in federal court on all counts of an indictment charging them with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and securities fraud.
Gentile, the owner and CEO of GPB Capital Holdings, was also convicted on two counts of wire fraud.
The verdict came after an eight-week trial.
When sentenced on Thursd…
Murder Suspect Busted In Mexico Back In MD After 12 Years On The Run: State's Attorney
After 12 years on the run, a man wanted in connection to the 2010 murder of a professor in Maryland is set to face a judge following his arrest in Mexico.
Jorge Rueda Landeros, 53, has been extradited back to Montgomery County to face charges for the 2010 killing of Sue Marcum in Bethesda, the state’s attorney’s office announced on Wednesday, July 26.
On Oct. 25, 2010, officers found Marcum dead inside her basement in the 6200 block of Massachusetts Avenue, prosecutors say, noting that her death was immediately deemed to be suspicious by detectives.
According to investigators, a rear wind…
New Canaan Resident Used Investor Funds To Pay Taxes, Credit Card Expenses, Gets Prison Time
A current Fairfield County resident formerly from New Haven County will spend years in prison for tax evasion and defrauding investors by using their funds to pay his personal expenses.
New Canaan resident Brian Hughes, age 58, formerly of Madison, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Monday, March 6 for defrauding investors of two companies, and for tax evasion, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced.
The charges stem back to March of 2015 when Hughes founded Handcrafted Brands, LLC (HBC), in order to raise money to purchase the alcoholi…
Barred Nassau County Investment Broker Accused Of Stealing $80K, DA Says
A Long Island man was arraigned after he was accused of stealing more than $80,000 from people who believed they were investing in shares of Petco, DoorDash, and Airbnb.
Peter Quartararo, age 56, of Glen Cove, was arraigned on Tuesday, Aug. 31, and charged with second-degree and third-degree grand larceny, according to Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith.
He is set to appear in court again on Wednesday, Oct. 20.
In August of last year, Quartararo allegedly introduced himself to the first victim, claiming to possess pre-initial public offering shares of DoorDash and offe…
Long Island Broker, Business Partner Charged For Alleged $436K Fraud Scheme, DA Says
A barred investment broker from Long Island and his business partner are facing charges for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from investors who thought they were getting in on the ground floor of major upcoming companies.
Glen Cove resident Peter Quartararo, the barred broker, and his partner, Paul Casella, of East Meadow, were arraigned on Tuesday, April 27 for allegedly stealing $436,000 from four investors to live a life of luxury, the District Attorney's Office announced.
Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said that the investors believed they were invest…
Owner, CEO Of Manhattan Investment Fund Among Trio Indicted For $1.8B Ponzi-Like Scheme
A man who was the head of a Manhattan investment fund was arrested on Thursday and is facing securities fraud charges for his role in an alleged $1.8 billion Ponzi-like scheme that saw his company paying clients with their own money.
Long Island resident David Gentile, age 54, of Manhasset, the founder, owner, and CEO of GPB Capital Holdings, was charged with two others for scheming to defraud investors by misrepresenting the source of funds used to make monthly distribution payments to them, federal officials said.
Specifically, the three were charged with securities and wire fraud, …
