DA VANCE ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF DANIEL FODIMAN FOR MULTIMILLION DOLLAR PONZI SCHEME
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., recently announced the indictment of DANIEL FODIMAN, 51, for allegedly defrauding investors through a multimillion dollar Ponzi scheme in which the defendant promised to fund profitable short-term investments. The defendant is charged in an indictment in New York State Supreme Court with Grand Larceny in the Second and Third Degrees, as well as Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree.[1]
“The allure of fast, easy returns is what many white-collar criminals count on to hook their victims,” said District Attorney Vance. “In this case, the defendant allegedly made misrepresentations to investors and fabricated corporate correspondence. As always, the problem with Ponzi schemes is that they are ultimately unsustainable and endanger the financial stability of all those involved, far beyond the potential profit of any individual return.”
According to the indictment, documents filed in court, and statements made in court, between 2010 and 2015, FODIMAN allegedly solicited money from prospective investors on the premise that the funds would be used to purchase merchandise for profitable resale. The majority of the merchandise was supposedly sold to TJ Maxx, entitling the defendant’s investors to a return of the principle and a portion of the profit. However, in lieu of using the investment money to purchase commercial goods, FODIMAN instead used the funds to pay other investors as part of a Ponzi scheme. Through various misrepresentations, the defendant was also allegedly able to convince some investors to make payments directly to other investors. Of the millions that flowed through the scheme, FODIMAN is accused of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on personal expenses.
In order to perpetuate the scheme, the defendant is accused of presenting investors with falsified TJ Maxx purchase orders and bank statements altered to show hundreds of thousands of dollars in pending payments that were, in fact, non-existent. FODIMAN also sent some investors doctored emails purporting to be sent from TJ Maxx and establishing legitimate business and forthcoming payments. In reality, no money ever came from TJ Maxx, because the defendant never sold any merchandise to the company.
Assistant District Attorney Sean Pippen is handling the prosecution of the case, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy, Principal Deputy Chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Polly Greenberg, Chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau, and Executive Assistant District Attorney David Szuchman, Chief of the Investigation Division. Trial Preparation Assistants Thomas Kendris and Kate Fisch, Rackets Investigator Jaime Mercier-Blanchard, Associate Financial Investigator Hermeet Kaur from Forensic Accounting and Financial Investigations, and Investigative Analyst Nicholas Frandsen also assisted with the case.
[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.
Defendant Information:
DANIEL FODIMAN, D.O.B. 1/14/1964
New York, NY
Charged:
- Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, 5 counts
- Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony 3 counts
- Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, 1 count