Friday, January 9, 2009

82 Year Old NY Businessman Charged By SEC In $17 Million Ponzi Scheme

Richard S. Piccoli, 82, of Amherst, New York, was charged Thursday by the SEC of operating a Ponzi-scheme investment scam. Piccoli has been charged in a criminal complaint with mail fraud in a scheme that lured predominantly Catholic investors, including a number of priests, to the tune of $17 million in a fraudulent investment. Piccoli offered an investment, ostensibly discounted mortgage instruments that earned up to 8.3 percent, through his company, Gen-See Capital Corp., based in Williamsville, NY, according to the complaint. Authorities claim that Piccoli took in more than $17 million from more than 250 investors since 2004, using new investment funds to pay off old investors and diverting some $600,000 to himself and his children. He faces up to 20 years in prison, plus a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution.

Read the story here, here and here.

Read the SEC's litigation release here.

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