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Milford resident Christopher Sakelarakis has been indicted by a federal grand jury in New Haven charging him in the investment scheme that allowed him to bilk his victim out of thousands of dollars to live a lavish lifestyle.
The indictment alleges that Sakelarakis “held himself out as having the necessary qualifications, experience and abilities to provide investment services to a victim-investor.” Sakelarakis allegedly claimed that he had multiple investment clients and was making a substantial profit through day trading. He also stated that he had a contact in an investment firm who provided him with stock tips. As part of his scheme, Sakelarakis allegedly said he would invest in stocks, options and other financial instruments on behalf of his victim and in exchange, he would keep 10 percent of the profits.
Sakelarakis allegedly was provided a $60,000 check by his victim in October last year. The indictment further alleges that within days, Sakelarakis withdrew $30,000 in cash, then made additional cash withdrawals at ATMs. Sakelarakis allegedly spent the money at stores that include Armani Exchange, Gamestop, Macy’s and Foot Locker.
John Durham, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that Sakelarakis also allegedly made several false statements in emails to his victim regarding the status of the “investments.” None of the money was ever returned to Sakelarakis’ victim.
Sakelarakis, 34, was arrested on Monday morning and charged with five counts of wire fraud, three counts of securities fraud and one count of money laundering. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on $60,000 bond. Sakelarakis is scheduled to appear in court at a later date to answer the charges.
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