4 Long Islanders Charged In $8.4M Boiler Room Fraud Scheme: Feds

GLEN COVE, NY — Four Glen Cove residents and a Brooklyn man have been charged in an international mass-marketing investment scheme to defraud investors out of $8.4 million, federal prosecutors said.

Glen Cove's Michael D'Urso, 54, Alyssa D'Urso, 28, Jay Garnock, 75, and Antonella Chiatamonte, 36, were taken into custody after being named in an indictment that was unsealed on Wednesday. Sixty-four-year-old Robert Lenard Booth, a.k.a. "Trevor Nicholas," of Brooklyn, was also named in the indictment.

Prosecutors allege that from at least June 2019 to August 2021, the group hid behind fake investment firms and a network of shell companies to dupe investors from around the world and then launder the money for personal gain.

The shell companies were run by the suspects from Glen Cove, according to officials. And they used them to partner with multiple boiler rooms, including Booth's in Thailand, to nab the cash. Investors didn't know Booth ran a boiler room operation overseas and believed that he was from a Manhattan-based investment firm, prosecutors said.

"Booth and his co-conspirators propped up their lies with fake identities and false and misleading webpages, email addresses, and phone numbers," prosecutors said. "While purporting to sell investors from around the world securities in privately held and publicly traded American companies, Booth stole more than $1 million from victim-investors, depriving them of their savings."

In total, the suspects from Glen Cove are accused of stealing more than $8.4 million. Of that, they reportedly tried to launder more than $4.6 million and send it overseas.

"Criminals have become extremely sophisticated in preying on unsuspecting victims, and this alleged boiler room scheme is no exception," said Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service. "This team of fraudsters allegedly went to great lengths to create fake marketing materials, fake contact information, and fake companies to dupe victim-investors and then laundered the funds for personal gain."

The suspects have been charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and operate unlicensed money transmitting businesses (carries a maximum prison sentence of five years), conspiracy to commit wire fraud (maximum of 20 years), and conspiracy to commit money laundering (maximum of 20 years).

"Hiding behind fake investment firms and a network of shell companies, these defendants preyed on victims around the world and cheated them of their hard-earned savings," Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said. "In selling their victims fake investments in American companies, the defendants abused the confidence and trust that investors worldwide have in American securities and American banks.

"Thanks to the tireless efforts of our law enforcement partners, these defendants now find themselves in hot water, being held accountable for their crimes."