Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director-in-Demand of the New York Office environment of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), declared nowadays the unsealing of an Indictment in White Plains federal court charging ADAM BELARDINO, the Main Govt Officer of the Maddox Team, a financial advisory agency in New York Town and elsewhere, with wire fraud in relationship with his embezzlement of additional than $313,000 from a Maddox client, a 64 12 months previous New Rochelle resident. BELARDINO was arrested this early morning and will be offered in White Plains federal court docket afterwards now.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams claimed: “Adam Belardino abused the trust his client placed in him by thieving much more than $313,000 the client gave him to be invested. Consumers like the target in this case require to be able to entrust their funds to economic advisors with confidence that the cash will be invested in a fashion that is appropriate for them. This Office environment will aggressively pursue fiscal advisors and other folks who steal income entrusted to them by shoppers.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Demand Michael J. Driscoll said: “Belardino is charged today for allegedly stealing several hundred thousand bucks from a shopper in an unlawful financial commitment fraud plan. Economical crimes of this nature can trigger substantial disruptions to the lives of those people who are victimized. We urge everyone to physical exercise their because of diligence when investing their revenue and to report suspicious action to authorities as shortly as feasible.”
According to the Indictment unsealed currently in White Plains federal court docket[1]:
BELARDINO had managed the victim’s investments at another business just before he started Maddox in July 2019. In August 2019, BELARDINO certain the sufferer to liquidate some of her portfolio and to transfer the liquidated cash to Maddox for investment decision. The victim then transferred additional than $313,000 to Maddox in 8 individual transactions in between August 2019 and Oct 2020. As a substitute of investing the victim’s income as he had promised, BELARDINO employed the victim’s money to shell out the working fees of Maddox, which includes payroll and business rent to fork out down prior personal debt to pay back credit score card charges, which consisted mainly of personal merchandise and to fork out for personalized vacation.
In September 2021, the target directed BELARDINO to transfer her portfolio at Maddox to her brokerage account at yet another agency. From September 2021 to February 2022, BELARDINO sent the target and members of her family members email messages and texts in which he claimed he was liquidating the portfolio and would return the funds shortly. BELARDINO also offered the victim’s family members with paperwork suggesting that a wire transfer of the money to the victim’s bank account was imminent or pending. BELARDINO also deposited checks drawn on a examining account held by Maddox into the victim’s financial institution account for what he claimed was the whole value of the victim’s portfolio.
The target hardly ever acquired any money by wire and the checks BELARDINO deposited into her bank account had been returned simply because the Maddox account did not have enough money to go over the checks. BELARDINO sent associates of the victim’s spouse and children e-mail and texts in which he claimed in material and in aspect that he was functioning with bank officers to take care of the difficulty and that his family members would repay the sufferer if he was not able to do so. BELARDINO also despatched users of the victim’s loved ones a document that falsely stated that the Maddox financial institution account had sufficient cash to repay the victim.
BELARDINO, 37, of New York Town, is billed with one particular depend of wire fraud, which carries a most sentence of 20 a long time in prison.
The greatest probable sentence in this circumstance is recommended by Congress and is supplied in this article for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be identified by the choose.
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Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the FBI.
This case is being taken care of by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Lawyer James McMahon is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are simply accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and until established guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the textual content of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment established forth herein, represent only allegations, and each actuality described should really be dealt with as an allegation.