Wethersfield Man Sentenced for Phony Cigarette Company Investment Scheme

WETHERSFIELD, CT — A Wethersfield man has been sentenced in a fraud case involving a cigarette distribution scheme and money well into six figures, a leading prosecutor said.

Deirdre Daly, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said on Wednesday that Anthony Sciarra, 54, of Wethersfield, formerly of Marlborough, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 46 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for operating an investment scheme that defrauded individuals and couples of more than $874,000.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2001 until May 2012, Sciarra operated AGS Financial, through which he offered insurance, securities and other financial products.

In approximately May 2012, the Connecticut Department of Insurance revoked Sciarra's insurance license.

Between approximately 2007 and July 2015, Sciarra passed himself off as a bona fide insurance agent and financial adviser when, in fact, he was not, Daly said.

Through AGS Financial, and later through an entity he described as “Westport Enterprises,” Sciarra solicited investments from various "victim-investors" with promises of high annual investment returns ranging from 4 percent to 12 percent or more, Daly said.

Sciarra falsely represented to investors that he would invest their funds in a bond fund or cigarette distribution business, and instead of investing any of the invested money as promised, he diverted funds for his personal use, including to pay for restaurant meals and department store purchases, and to pay loans and other personal bills, Daly said.

The investigation revealed that Sciarra made large cash withdrawals from ATMs and at Foxwoods Resort Casino, Daly said.

Sciarra also used some of the funds to make “interest” payments to other victim-investors, she said.

During the scheme, Sciarra made false statements to certain victim-investors, both in-person and by e-mail, in an attempt to explain the various delays in the purported interest payments, Daly said.

In addition to telling victim-investors that their funds had been invested as represented, Sciarra sought to prevent the discovery of the scheme by issuing payments to the victim-investors as a partial return of the principal and monies that were then due, she said.

Eventually, these payments stopped and the scheme was discovered, Daly said.

Through this scheme, Sciarra defrauded at least 12 victim-investors of $874,601.20, court papers indicate.

Judge Shea ordered him to make full restitution.

On Feb. 1, 2017, Sciarra entered a plea of guilty to one count of wire fraud. Judge Shea ordered him to report to prison on Aug. 30.

Sciarra has been released on a $100,000 bond.

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