Nick Salzano Of Secaucus Pleads Guilty In $658 Million Ponzi Scheme

SECAUCUS, NJ — On Tuesday, a former Secaucus resident admitted in U.S. federal court to orchestrating a $658-million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 2,000 people.

The man is Thomas Nicholas Salzano, known as Nick Salzano, 65. He ran a real estate investing company called National Realty Investment Advisors (NRIA). He used to live in Riverside Court, pictured above.

On Tuesday of this week, he pleaded guilty in federal court in Newark to three crimes: One count of securities fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States (tax evasion).

His guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger.

Salzano has yet to be sentenced. As part of his plea deal, he agreed to serve 8-12 years in prison. He also agreed to pay $507 million in restitution to his victims. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 6 of this year.

Salzano no longer lives in Secaucus, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office. He is currently out of jail on a $1-million bail, and he has been ordered to home confinement until his sentencing. According to an order from the U.S. Marshal's Service, a family member in Toms River posted his home as collateral should Salzano leave the country. Salzano had to surrender his U.S. passport.

Salzano no longer remains in Secaucus, was all a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney would say.

The story of Nick Salzano:

Patch has been covering the alleged criminal activities of Nick Salzano for several years now. He and his wife lived in Riverside Court, the luxury town home community at the end of Meadowlands Parkway.

You might have heard of National Realty Investment Advisors: They used to advertise prominently on the TV and radio, and had billboards up at the Holland and Lincoln tunnels. NRIA claimed it owned $1.25 billion in real estate assets, from luxury homes in Saddle River to beachfront condos in Florida.

National Realty Investment Advisors listed its place of business as 1325 Paterson Plank Road in Secaucus.

However, for years now federal prosecutors alleged NRIA was a massive Ponzi scheme, kept only afloat by money from new investors.

In March of 2021, Salzano was arrested by FBI agents, with assistance from Secaucus Police. His arrest came after a police standoff that lasted for several hours where Salzano refused to come out of his town home. Residents in Riverside Court were told to shelter inside their homes as FBI agents and Secaucus Police, with guns drawn, ordered Salzano to come out. He finally did emerge and was placed in handcuffs. He was later released on a $100,000 bail.

U.S. Attorneys say Salzano and another man, Rey Grabato, 43, of Hoboken, ran NRIA. Hudson County View has a photo of both Salzano and Grabato.

Grabato was president of NRIA, and Salzano was the firm’s shadow CEO. (Federal prosecutors say Salzano made Grabato the public face of the company to hide the fact that Salzano at one point pleaded guilty to fraud in Louisiana, through a now-shuttered telecommunications company he owned called NorVergence.)

While Salzano was taken into FBI custody, Grabato is believed to have fled to the Philippines, where he has citizenship. As of the writing of this report, he remains a fugitive and he is considered among the FBI's most wanted.

A third man, Arthur Scuttaro, 62, of Nutley, worked as the head of sales at NRIA. He pleaded guilty in 2022 to one count of securities fraud conspiracy.

National Realty Investment Advisors lured investors with "guaranteed 12 percent returns"

The feds say from 2018 through 2022, Salzano, Grabato and Scuttaro sold memberships in their real estate investment fund to investors across the country, including 380 investors in New Jersey alone. They claimed all money would be used to purchase land or property at below-market value prices, which would then be developed for sale at a large profit.

NRIA used aggressive advertising, where they guaranteed returns of 12 percent, with the added possibility of returns as high as 21 percent.

Federal agents started investigating NRIA after people began reporting the company to the New Jersey Bureau of Securities, saying they had lost significant amounts of money.

In reality, NRIA generated little to no profits and operated as a Ponzi scheme, which was kept afloat only by money coming in from new investors, said U.S. Attorney Sellinger. Prosecutors say Grabato/Salzano also tried to evade paying $26 million in taxes.

The FBI says Salzano used the money to support a lavish lifestyle, including expensive dinners, extravagant birthday parties, and payments to family and friends, including a salary paid to his wife for a no-show job.

“For years, Salzano told lie after lie to investors, continuously deceived them, and operated his business as a Ponzi scheme, through which he stole money from thousands of investors,” U.S. Attorney Sellinger said Feb. 28. “His greed and flagrant disregard for the law caused staggering losses in excess of $650 million. This office will continue to prioritize prosecuting individuals, like Salzano, to ensure that those who engage in rampant fraud are punished with long jail sentences and are ordered to make their victims whole.”

“Many people who decide to invest have to put a lot of faith in so-called financial experts, hoping their money grows and doesn’t one day disappear,” FBI-Newark Special Agent in Charge James Dennehy also said this week. “Salzano admits he played a role in a scam that cost investors $658 million. History has shown over and over and over again, Ponzi schemes don't ever pay out, yet criminals keep trying to beat the system."

In June of 2022, the New Jersey Attorney General issued a cease-and-desist order to NRIA, the same week the company filed for bankruptcy. They are now out of business. Hudson County View published this article on people who chose to invest with NRIA, and how much money they lost by doing so.

Dennehy, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Newark, said this week: "FBI Newark and our law enforcement partners are doing all we can to help the victims in this case. We want others who may have faced a similar situation to contact us so we can help you as well.”

Prior Patch reporting on Nick Salzano and NRIA:

Secaucus Real Estate Investing Firm Shut Down By State Of New Jersey (2022)

Secaucus Man Arrested By FBI In Financial Fraud Case (2021)

Here is the Oct. 2022 federal indictment against Nick Salzano. If you think you have been a victim of NRIA, or another Ponzi scheme or scam, contact the FBI: https://www.justice.gov/usao-n...