Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that a Jackson resident has been sentenced to state prison for defrauding investors of $925,000 through a false investment scheme.
According to Taylor, Zina A. Martin, 45, of Jackson, was sentenced on Nov. 5 to 10 years in state prison by state Superior Court Judge James Den Uyl, sitting in Toms River.
Martin was also ordered to pay restitution to her victims of $925,000. Martin pleaded guilty on June 29 to second-degree theft by deception, a charge contained in a Feb. 15, 2008, state grand jury indictment, according to a press release.
In pleading guilty, Martin admitted that between Dec. 1, 2006, and May 1, 2007, she defrauded investors by representing to them that their money would be placed in certain investment vehicles when, in fact, she intended to use the funds for other purposes.
An investigation by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities determined that Martin used the funds to pay business expenses, make payments to other investors, and pay personal expenses, including mortgage payments, monthly living expenses and the purchase of a Cadillac Escalade, according to the press release.
Martin solicited $925,000 from about 30 investors as sole owner and president of Kairos Financial Corporation, which had offices at 331 Newman Springs Road, Red Bank. The state investigation revealed that Martin distributed a brochure to investors describing six different investment funds called the Kairos Funds, including average yearly returns for some of the funds.
She also issued monthly statements informing investors of the amounts they purportedly held in each of the funds. In reality, the Kairos Funds were fictitious and investors’ money was commingled in a brokerage account of Kairos Financial, according to the press release.
Deputy Attorney General James Ruberton took the plea for the Division of Criminal Justice and represented the state at the sentencing. The case was investigated for the Bureau of Securities by Supervising Investigator Michael McElgunn and Investigator Richard Smullen.
Detective Eric Ludwick, and Deputy Attorneys General Ruberton and Patrick Flor handled the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Major Crimes Bureau.
In October 2007, the Bureau of Securities revoked the investment adviser registrations of Martin and Kairos Financial.