Milford Man Sentenced To Prison Over Defrauding Elderly Victim

MILFORD, CT — A Milford man, Christopher J. Sakelarakis, 35, will spend the next 30 months in prison for his role in an investment scheme that defrauded an elderly victim of $60,000, federal authorities announced.

Sakelarakis was sentenced in court this week. Once he is released from prison he will undergo three years of supervised release.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Sakelarakis held himself out as having the necessary qualifications, experience and abilities to provide investment services to an elderly victim-investor.

Sakelarakis falsely represented to the victim that he had a number of investment clients, that he was making a substantial profit including by day trading, and that he had a contact in an investment firm who provided him with stock tips, federal officials said.

Sakelarakis also represented that he would invest in stocks, options and other financial instruments on behalf of the victim and that his compensation would be a commission on 10 percent of the profits, officials said.

In October 2017, the victim provided Sakelarakis with a $60,000 check. The funds were more than half of what the victim had saved for retirement. Within days after receiving and depositing the check, Sakelarakis withdrew $30,000 in cash, and then made additional cash withdrawals, including several large withdrawals at ATMs, officials said.

Sakelarakis spent a portion of the funds at stores such as Armani Exchange, Foot Locker, Macy’s and Gamestop, officials said. In October and November 2017, Sakelarakis made several false representations in e-mails to the victim-investor relating to the status of the “investments” and the victim’s account, officials said. No funds were ever returned to the victim.

The judge ordered Sakelarakis to pay full restitution, plus interest, to the victim. Sakelarakis was arrested on October 15, 2018. On December 27, he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

Sakelarakis, who is released on a $60,000 bond, is required to report to prison on Sept. 4.