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Long Island resident Rand Heckler, age 67, of Glen Cove, was sentenced to up to seven-and-a-half years in prison on Wednesday, May 15, the Nassau County District Attorney (NCDA) announced.
Heckler was an investment broker in 2015 when he began his scheme, recommending that his friend and his friend’s son that they invest in a hedge fund of stocks and securities that Heckler was managing.
Original Story - $1 Million Ponzi Scheme: Glen Cove Investment Broker Pleads Guilty
The offer was only meant to be for Heckler’s closest 15 to 20 friends and associates, the DA said.
For the next five years, from December 2015 to January 2020, Heckler’s victims wrote him 24 checks totaling $755,159.
During that time, he would show his victims fake trade confirmations as proof the stocks had been purchased.
Later, in January 2020, one of the victims asked Heckler for $100,000 from his father’s account, for which he had power of attorney.
When he received the money — after weeks of delay — the victim was told that it was from the sale of stock.
However, following a May 2020 investigation by the NCDA, it was discovered that the $100,000 had been wired directly to another woman who thought she was making a life insurance payment into her deceased husband’s hedge fund.
In addition to conning friends and neighbors, the DA said Heckler would cold call people in other states and get them to agree to invest.
He spent the Ponzi scheme money on a country club membership, credit card payments, dry cleaning bills, and his mortgage.
In total, Heckler stole $1,004,159 from four victims.
“Heckler lived large off of his victims’ funds,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne T Donnelly.
“Having a trusted financial advisor is essential to making safe and smart investments. Rand Heckler used the trust of friends and neighbors against them only to enrich himself.”
In April 2023, he pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- Grand larceny; and
- Scheme to defraud.
In addition to his sentence, Heckler was ordered to pay restitution a balance of $919,160 and another $48,000 was seized from his bank account.
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