An investment manager with an office in Middletown has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme, concealing losses, faking investment returns, and stealing more than $10 million in investor money, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced on May 23.
Vincent P. Falci, 59, of Middletown, was convicted on Dec. 13, 2018 of all four counts of a superseding indictment: three counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson, who imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court, according to a press release.
Falci controlled a number of investment funds under the names “Saber Funds” and “Vicor Tax Receivables LLP.”
The Saber Funds were a collection of investment funds that Falci created and operated, starting in the early 2000s. Many of his earliest victims were friends, family, and associates, according to the press release.
Falci served as a fire chief in Middletown. Many early victims were policemen, fireman, and retirement funds for first responders. The Saber Funds grew to have more than 200 investors from whom the defendant raised more than $10 million, according to the press release.
Falci falsely told investors that the Saber Funds were conservatively invested in tax liens – which generated high returns with little risk. In reality, Falci diverted investor money to himself, his family, and to other companies he controlled, according to the press release.
Some of the diverted funds were used for riskier ventures, such as day trading and real estate. Falci concealed losses and his own theft from investors. Based on these misrepresentations, investors continued to entrust additional funds to Falci and left previous investments under his control, according to the press release.
In early 2012, Falci started the Vicor Fund, targeting wealthier investors with greater sophistication in financial affairs. The investors in the Vicor Fund included financial industry professionals. Falci raised $20 million from these victims, according to the press release.
He again falsely represented that he had experience and a track record of success investing in tax liens, and promised that he could produce high rates of return with little risk, according to the press release.
To support his lifestyle and repay investors the gains he had promised, Falci stole more than $10 million from the Vicor Fund between 2012 and 2016.
At the same time, he reported fake investment gains to his investors on each monthly statement. Falci concealed his theft in several ways. He also forged emails and reports and created fake assets for the fund, according to the press release.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Thompson sentenced Falci to three years of supervised release, with restitution and forfeiture to be determined at a later date, according to the press release.