National Realty Investment Advisors, LLC (“NRIA”).
(March 4, 2024, San Diego, California). On June 7, 2022, National Realty Investment Advisors, LLC and certain of its affiliates (collectively, the "Debtors") each filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.
On October 13, 2022 the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against New Jersey-based National Realty Investment Advisors LLC (NRIA) and four of its former executives for running a Ponzi-like scheme that raised approximately $600 million from about 2,000 investors.
The SEC's complaint alleges that beginning in 2018, NRIA and its executives raised funds by promising investors their money would be used to buy and develop real estate properties, which would generate profits through a fund that NRIA set up to invest in the projects. The four executives, Rey E. Grabato II, of Hoboken, New Jersey, Daniel Coley O'Brien, of Southampton, New York, Thomas Nicholas Salzano, of Secaucus, New Jersey, and Arthur S. Scutaro, of Bloomfield, New Jersey solicited investors in a nationwide campaign promising returns of up to 20 percent.
In reality, the complaint alleges, investor money was used to pay distributions to other investors, to fund an executive's family's personal and luxury purchases, and to pay reputation management firms to thwart investors' due diligence of the executives.
The complaint further alleges that NRIA manipulated the real estate fund's financial statements and the financial information in marketing material distributed to investors, intentionally disguising the misuse of investor funds and creating the false appearance that NRIA and the fund were generating more revenue than they actually were and that operations were successful. However, NRIA had little to no revenue, and it and the fund filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 7, 2022. See, SEC.gov | National Realty Investment Advisors LLC, Rey E. Grabato II, Daniel Coley O'Brien, Thomas Nicholas Salzano and Arthur S. Scutaro, a/k/a Arthur S. Scuttaro, and Relief Defendants Olena Budinska and Jamie A. Samul, a/k/a Jamie Salzano.
Most recently, on February, 27, 2024, The shadow chief executive officer of National Realty Investment Advisors LLC (NRIA) today admitted orchestrating a scheme to defraud more than 2,000 investors in a $658 million Ponzi scheme and conspiring to evade millions of dollars in tax liabilities, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Thomas Nicholas Salzano, aka “Nicholas Salzano,” 65, of Secaucus, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin in Newark federal court to securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Salzano admitted he made numerous misrepresentations to investors while he secretly ran NRIA behind the scenes. He also admitted to misappropriating millions of dollars from investors to enrich himself and his family and friends. See, District of New Jersey | Leader of Real Estate Investment Firm Admits Role in $658 Million Ponzi Scheme and Multimillion-Dollar Tax Evasion Conspiracy | United States Department of Justice.
If you did business with any of the above individuals or firms and are interested in learning more about your legal rights and remedies, please contact Richard A. Nervig (info@nerviglaw.com) at (760) 451-2300.