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Leon Vaccarelli, 42, has been found guilty in New Haven district court of numerous fraud and money laundering charges stemming from an elaborate investment scheme that saw him defraud more than a dozen victim investors.
U.S. Attorney John Durham said that Vaccarelli, of Waterbury, was a registered representative of The Investment Center, and was an investment adviser with IC Advisory Services, Inc. He also was the owner and only member of LWLVACC, LLC, and conducted business through an entity named Lux Financial Services.
Through those companies and associations, Vaccarelli operated a financial advisory and brokerage service through which he offered investment advice and sold investments and securities to individuals and families in the Waterbury area.
Between 2011 and 2017, Vaccarelli was found guilty of defrauding at least 15 victim-investors out of $1.5 million by falsely representing that he would invest his clients’ money in IRA rollover accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, or other types of interest-earning investments.
Instead of investing those funds, Vaccarelli deposited them into his own personal and business bank accounts, using the money to pay business and personal expenses, including tuition and mortgage payments. Some funds were also used to make bogus “investment payments” to other victim investors.
According to Durham, one of Vaccarelli’s victims was an elderly woman who transferred approximately $300,000 from a safe investment portfolio into a bank account that Vaccarelli controlled. That money was subsequently spent on personal expenses and to pay off another investor who threatened to sue him.
Vaccarelli also stole nearly $500,000 from a trust, which had been established in 1991 for a woman with diminished capacity. Other victims include a retired schoolteacher, a retired construction worker, and medical professionals.
On May 2 last year, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Vaccarelli with three counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. On March 5, a superseding indictment against Vaccarelli added three counts of wire fraud and six counts of securities fraud.
Vaccarelli’s trial began on May 13 and he was found guilty on all counts of the indictments on Wednesday, May 29. Vaccarelli is released on a $100,000 bond pending his sentencing on Aug. 22, when he will face 20 years on each count of fraud and 10 years on each money laundering count.
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