Former Bergen Resident, Co-Conspirators Swindle $3.6M Out Of Investors: U.S. Attorney

A former Alpine resident was ordered to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty after his company engaged in a scheme to sell more than $3.6 million in unregistered securities to more than 170 investors, said U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.

James R. Trolice, along with two out-of-state cohorts, duped investors into buying LLC membership interests in companies that reportedly held “valuable” securities that enabled the holders to purchase a stock at a certain price until a designated date, but actually owned significantly less than they thought or none at all, Fishman said.

The men are accused of violating the state’s Uniform Securities Law.

The New Jersey Bureau’s Summary and Cease and Desist Order also fined Lee Vaccaro, of Nevada, and Patrick G. Mackaronis, of New York City, $1.5 million and $140,000 civil penalties, respectively, for their role in the scheme.

The scheme involved purchasing shares of stock of eAgency, a California-based technology company, for which Trolice and Vaccaro “performed services,” authorities said. Trolice was a consultant, or a “finder” and provided marketing and sales services and introduced potential investors to the company.

As compensation for their work, Trolice was granted stock warrants in the company. He, together with Vaccaro, would try and sell potential investors eAgency, but would direct investors to their own companies, which they said held millions of dollars in eAgency stock warrants. They produced fraudulent documents and made false statements to back up these claims.

In reality, the men did not hold anywhere the number of warrants they claimed they did and raised more than $3.6 million in the sale securities to hundreds of investors, includes dozens from New Jersey.

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