Bronxville Investment Advisor Admits Stealing $5M From Family, Friends: DOJ

BRONXVILLE, NY — A Westchester investment advisor has admitted in federal court to conning those closest to him out of millions of dollars.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Acting Inspector in Charge of the New York Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service, Edward Gallashaw, announced on Thursday the filing of an Information charging 66-year-old Joseph D'Ambrosio, of Bronxville, with running a scheme to defraud friends and family who believed they were investing in securities and other investments managed by his private investment fund.

"Joseph D'Ambrosio stole more than $5 million from his friends and family and hid this fraud until the money ran out," Clayton said. "Fraudsters often prey on those close to them — friends, family, members of religious and social groups — using their trust to exploit them. This Office will bring those who violate that trust to justice and recognizes Mr. D'Ambrosio's self-reporting and acceptance of responsibility."

D'Ambrosio was charged with one count of investment advisor fraud, which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, and entered a guilty plea.

"For years D’Ambrosio, using deceptive tactics, allegedly stole from people who trusted him all in the name of greed," Gallashaw said. "What makes D'Ambrosio's alleged conduct especially appalling is that his victims were personal friends and family. The Postal Inspection Service will continue investigating fraud cases such as these and will hold individuals accountable who use their professional positions as a mechanism to steal from trusting investors."

According to court documents, from 2010 to December 2024, D'Ambrosio operated Hereford Holdings, a private investment vehicle for him, his family, and his friends. He told his investors that he had invested their Hereford funds in a private fund managed by an investment advisor for which D'Ambrosio served as the chief investment officer. He instead misappropriated the investor funds for his personal use.

To deceive his investors and keep the scheme going, D'Ambrosio sent his investors false investment performance letters and fake K-1 tax forms that stated they had gained money, when they had not. When some investors wished to make withdrawals from Hereford, D'Ambrosio used new investor funds to pay them in a Ponzi-like way to keep his scheme going.

In December 2024, when faced with withdrawal requests he could not honor, D'Ambrosio confessed to his crimes.

According to the DOJ, he fraudulently obtained more than $5 million from his investors during the course of his fraud scheme.

Clayton praised the work of the USPIS and thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has separately filed civil charges against D'Ambrosio.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office's Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. Shahabian in charge of the prosecution.