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The business he the Think Big Institute was failing when Scott Nicholson, 53, of North Haledon, began to “misappropriate investor monies by withdrawing existing investment monies and new investments for his personal benefit,” state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
Over the course of five years, Nicholson transferred $373,823 in investment money to his personal checking account and paid $271,129 worth of personal expenses directly from Think Big’s coffers, Grewal said.
The unregistered adviser tried to cover his tracks by creating bogus statements that claimed positive returns, the attorney general said.
In the end, the 24 investors lost $471,602, “representing the amount of their principal investments less dividends they received,” he said.
Such crimes “can have a devastating impact on investors, who may be counting on the invested funds for a secure financial future,” state Division of Criminal Justice Director Veronica Allende of the Division of Criminal Justice said.
“We urge individuals who believe they have been defrauded to contact the Division of Criminal Justice at 866-TIPS-4CJ,” she added.
Nicholson was processed and released pending court action on charges of theft, misconduct by a corporate official and falsifying or tampering with records.
He was initially investigated by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities, which referred the case to the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Cyber Crimes Bureau, Grewal said.
The Bureau of Securities also issued a cease and desist order to prevent further violations of the New Jersey Uniform Securities Law, the attorney general said.
Deputy Attorney Janet Bosi is prosecuting the case for the Division of Criminal Justice's Financial & Cyber Crimes Bureau. The lead investigator is Detective Roxanna Ordonez-Fresse, who was assisted by Analyst Bhumi Patel, Grewal said.
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