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Politics
Trump Family's Biggest Legal Threat From SDNY Prosecutors, Not Mueller, Experts Say Trump Family's Biggest Legal Threat From SDNY Prosecutors, Not Mueller, Experts Say
Trump Family's Biggest Legal Threat From Sdny Prosecutors, Not Mueller, Experts Say Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York are set to take the Trump organization to task for various offenses, according to legal experts and multiple reports. In the past week, the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) has accepted a guilty plea from President Donald Trump's former longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, and offered an immunity deal to Allen Weisselberg, chief financial officer of The Trump Organization. According to Bloomberg, Weisselberg, “will likely be required to provide information on all criminal activity he kn…

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by Zak Failla
Real Estate
Area Real Estate Developer Charged In Investment Scheme Area Real Estate Developer Charged In Investment Scheme
Area Real Estate Developer Charged In Investment Scheme A real estate developer is facing up to two decades behind bars for operating an alleged years-long Ponzi scheme that included properties in the Hudson Valley. Michael D’Alessio, 52, has been charged with committing wire fraud in connection to his elaborate scheme to defraud investors in luxury real estate developments in Manhattan, the Hamptons, Westchester and elsewhere. D'Alessio is the former president and CEO of real estate development firm Michael Paul Enterprises in White Plains. A career real estate developer and contractor, D’Alessio was the CEO of an investment and development fi…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
CT Man Admits To Pay-For-Play Scheme With Ex-Aide To NY Gov. Cuomo CT Man Admits To Pay-For-Play Scheme With Ex-Aide To NY Gov. Cuomo
CT Man Admits To Pay-For-Play Scheme With Ex-Aide To NY Gov. Cuomo A former executive at a Hudson Valley-headquartered power plant pleaded guilty to bribery for his role in a pay-to-play scheme involving a Northern Westchester resident and former top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Former Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) executive Peter Kelly, 54, admitted in Manhattan Federal Court on Friday that to further his relationship with South Salem resident Joseph Percoco, he helped hire Percoco's wife to a $90,000, low-show job at CPV.  The guilty plea entered by Kelly, who is known as "Braith" and is a resident of Canterbury, Conn., was for defrauding CPV …

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Former Finance Director From Fairfield County Charged With Fraud Former Finance Director From Fairfield County Charged With Fraud
Former Finance Director From Fairfield County Charged With Fraud A 45-year-old Fairfield County woman has been charged with fraud at a nonprofit organization serving underprivileged youths in Manhattan. Michelle Foley of Wilton is charged with bank, wire, and access device fraud in connection with her theft of funds from the organization.  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the Tuesday, April 24 the arrest of Foley, a former finance director of a nonprofit organization that provides arts and mentoring programs to underserved youth. Foley appeared in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday before the…

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by Jon Craig
News
Fairfield County Man, 49, Sentenced For $6M Ponzi Scheme Fairfield County Man, 49, Sentenced For $6M Ponzi Scheme
Fairfield County Man, 49, Sentenced For $6M Ponzi Scheme A 49-year-old Wilton man was sentenced to more than three years in prison Tuesday for using hedge-fund money for his own personal use as part of a $6 million-plus Ponzi scheme. Steven Simmons was sentenced to 37 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood. Simmons, who solicited over $6 million in investments for a hedge fund, misappropriated nearly $2 million of these funds for his own use and that of a co-conspirator, said Geoffrey Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Other investor funds solicited by Simmons were used by the owner of the He…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Four Charged In Sex Trafficking Ring That Included CT Hotels, Motels Four Charged In Sex Trafficking Ring That Included CT Hotels, Motels
Four Charged In Sex Trafficking Ring That Included CT Hotels, Motels A Westchester resident is among four men facing charges for their roles in allegedly trafficking women for sex in multiple states. Geoffrey Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District announced the arrest of the four on Tuesday, including 49-year-old Bronxville resident Guixia Wu “stemming from a conspiracy to engage in the interstate trafficking of women, primarily Chinese nationals, for the purpose of prostitution." The women were reportedly moving into and out of hotels and motels in seven states, including New York and Connecticut. According to the indictment unse…

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by Zak Failla
News
Area Doctors Practicing In NYC Charged With Taking Fentanyl Rx Kickbacks Area Doctors Practicing In NYC Charged With Taking Fentanyl Rx Kickbacks
Area Doctors Practicing In NYC Charged With Taking Fentanyl Rx Kickbacks Two doctors from Westchester practicing in Manhattan were among five charged with participating in a bribery and kickback scheme that prosecutors said sought to increase the drug company’s sales while taking advantage of patients, Geoffrey S. Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced Friday. Gordon Freedman of Mount Kisco and Jeffrey Goldstein of New Rochelle were among the five charged with participating in a scheme to receive bribes and kickbacks in the form of fees for sham educational programs from a pharmaceutical company in exchange for prescribing milli…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Northern Westchester Hedge Fund Manager Pleads Guilty To $22M Ponzi Scheme Northern Westchester Hedge Fund Manager Pleads Guilty To $22M Ponzi Scheme
Northern Westchester Hedge Fund Manager Pleads Guilty To $22M Ponzi Scheme A former hedge fund manager from Northern Westchester pleaded guilty Thursday to defrauding 45 investors, many of them friends and neighbors, of $22 million in a Ponzi scheme. Michael Scronic of Pound Ridge, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Cathy Seibel on July 9.  “Michael Scronic lied about the performance of his investment fund, telling investors that his returns were as high as 13 percent," U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey S. Berman said. …

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by Joe Lombardi
News
New Canaan Man Charged In Massive Fraud Scheme Could Get 85 Years In Prison New Canaan Man Charged In Massive Fraud Scheme Could Get 85 Years In Prison
New Canaan Man Charged In Massive Fraud Scheme Could Get 85 Years In Prison A New Canaan man working as an executive for an audit firm is facing nearly 100 years in prison for his role in an elaborate wire fraud scheme. Geoffrey Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced this week that David Britt, 54, was among five former employees at accounting firm KPMG who are facing charges in connection with their scheme to defraud the Securities and Exchange Commission for several years through an elaborate series of back channels. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which is overseen by the SEC inspects audit work…

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by Zak Failla