Secaucus Man Arrested By FBI In Financial Fraud Case

SECAUCUS, NJ — A Secaucus man who worked as a financial portfolio manager was taken into custody by the FBI Thursday, and is charged with defrauding a client out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, charge the U.S. Attorney at their Newark field office.

The man is Thomas Nicholas Salzano, aka “Nick Salzano,” of Secaucus. He was taken into custody Thursday afternoon during this police standoff that occurred in Riverside Court, where residents were told to stay inside their homes for several hours Thursday.

He was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Salzano was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit are investigating and prosecuting the case.

Related: Secaucus Police Issue Shelter In Place For Riverside Court

Salzano worked for a real estate investing company based in Secaucus (you might have heard their ads on the radio), and federal prosecutors say he sent a client a letter forged with the signature of a bank CEO, to show her they could obtain a $25 million bank loan to invest in property in North Bergen.

The company is National Realty Investment Advisors (NRIA), a real estate management fund that has its place of business listed as 1325 Paterson Plank Road in Secaucus. NRIA has its fingers in a lot of development, from luxury homes in Saddle River to beach-front condos in Florida.

NRIA has a purported $1.25 billion in assets as of 2021, say the feds. Salzano was employed by the firm. You can read more about National Realty Investment Advisors here: https://www.prnewswire.com/new...

In May 2018, a client, identified only as "the victim," purchased three units in NRIA’s real estate investment fund for $150,000, after hearing an advertisement for the fund on the radio. An NRIA vice president offered her a guaranteed six percent return for each unit purchased, paid monthly, for the first two to two-and-a-half years of the five-year term, and the potential of greater guaranteed returns after the initial period.

Near the end of 2018, that same vice president approached the victim about a supposed new opportunity to become a joint venture partner with NRIA in a property in North Bergen, allegedly owned by NRIA. The minimum investment was $300,000, and the victim could use her original $150,000 investment in the NRIA fund toward the required $300,000 investment in the North Bergen property.

The victim asked for more information on the North Bergen property, and she was sent materials purporting to show that NRIA intended to obtain a $25 million bank loan for the property. She asked for information on the loan and was then referred to Salzano, the FBI said.

On Jan. 17, 2019, Salzano emailed her a purported letter of intent (LOI) from the bank. However, the letter sent by Salzano was fraudulent, said the U.S. Attorney. A representative later confirmed that the letter was fraudulent and that a signature on it from the bank's CEO was forged, say the feds.

Federal prosecutors say Salzano is facing up to twenty years.

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