$650M Real Estate Ponzi Scheme Was Run By 2 Hudson County Men: Feds

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Federal prosecutors say a Hoboken resident, a Secaucus resident, and another man conspired in a $650 million Ponzi scheme that attempted to rip off more than 2,000 real estate investors.

Arthur S. Scuttaro, 62, of Nutley, the former head of sales at National Realty Investment Advisors LLC (NRIA), pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2023.

Prosecutors also announced criminal charges against two people who they say led the massive Ponzi scheme: Thomas Nicholas Salzano, 64, of Secaucus, and Rey E. Grabato II, 43, of Hoboken and the Republic of the Philippines.

Grabato is still at large, prosecutors said.

Salzano and Grabato were charged in an 18-count indictment that accuses them of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Salzano is also charged with two counts of aggravated identity theft, two counts of tax evasion, and five counts of subscribing to false tax returns, prosecutors said. Salzano was arrested Wednesday and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

“As charged in the indictment, these defendants schemed to create a high-pressure, fraudulent marketing campaign to hoodwink investors into believing that their bogus real estate venture generated substantial profits,” U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said.

“In reality, their criminal tactics were straight out of the Ponzi scheme playbook so that they could cheat their investors and line their own pockets,” Sellinger added.

Read more about the scheme and how it worked here.