Secaucus Man, Previously Charged, Now Indicted For Investment Fraud

SECAUCUS, NJ — A Secaucus man who was arrested by the FBI last year, and then had his real estate investment company shut down by the Attorney General in June, has now been indicted on 18 counts of securities fraud.

The man is Thomas Nicholas Salzano, known as Nick Salzano, 64, of Secaucus. The U.S. Attorney's office, based in Newark, unsealed his indictment this week.

Salzano was indicted alongside Rey E. Grabato II, 43, of Hoboken, who also has citizenship in the Philippines.

Salzano was taken into police custody Wednesday; he was scheduled to appear in federal court in Newark Thursday afternoon.

However, Grabato remains at large and is considered a most-wanted fugitive by the FBI.

Both men were charged in the 18-count indictment with conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States (tax evasion).

Salzano is also charged with two counts of aggravated identity theft and five counts of submitting false tax returns. If convicted, Salzano could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

Federal prosecutors say the two men defrauded more than 2,000 people who invested in their real estate company, National Realty Investment Advisors (NRIA), and tried to evade paying $26 million in taxes.

National Realty Investment Advisors listed its place of business as 1325 Paterson Plank Road in Secaucus. This past June, the New Jersey Attorney General issued a cease-and-desist order to NRIA, the same week the company filed for bankruptcy.

A spokesperson for National Realty Investment Advisors said the following in response to the indictments of Salzano and Grabato, and stressed that they are former employees of the company.

“The action taken by the Department of Justice details abuses by former executives of National Realty Investment Advisors. Court-approved executives now leading the company are engaged in the process of restructuring and developing a long-term financial plan that will position us for sustained, long-term success. The fundamentals of our business remain strong, and we look forward to a bright future.”

The feds say Salzano and Grabato sold memberships in a real estate investment fund to investors across the country, including 380 investors in New Jersey alone. They claimed all money invested in their fund 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 was involved in a lot of development deals, from luxury homes in Saddle River to beach-front condos in Florida, and published many press releases about itself: https://www.prnewswire.com/new...

Federal agents started investigating NRIA after investors reported the company to the New Jersey Bureau of Securities, saying they had lost significant amounts of money, and that the returns NRIA promised were not happening.

Also, Arthur S. Scuttaro, 62, of Nutley, who worked as the former head of sales at NRIA, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of securities fraud conspiracy. He pleaded guilty the same day his employers were indicted.

“This was a brazen scheme of staggering proportions,” said Tammy Tomlins, IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Newark field office. “These defendants stole $650 million from investors. The indictment sends a clear message that the IRS and our law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue those who attempt to enrich themselves through fraud."

You may have heard NRIA's ads on the radio. To entice people to invest with them, the company used an "aggressive" advertising campaign, say the feds, which included radio ads and high-profile billboards at the Lincoln and Holland tunnels. The billboard messaging guaranteed returns of 12 percent, with the added possibility of obtaining returns as high as 21 percent.

The Attorney General warned that investment returns such as this are often "too good to be true."

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.

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 Philip Sellinger. The New Jersey Attorney General previously said the two men used millions of investor dollars to make lavish payments to family members — including a salary paid to Salzano’s wife for a no-show job.

“This case should serve as a cautionary tale to the consumer,” FBI Special Agent in Charge James Dennehy said. “Before you entrust your hard-earned savings to someone, do your research on the person and product they are selling; become familiar with the red flags that can alert you to a fraud; don’t let dollar signs cloud your judgement; and remember the old adage that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Slick pamphlets, flashy commercials and ads that feature celebrities do not add up to the most important element – credibility ... The sad fact is the consumer is rarely made whole. Skepticism and analysis are still the best protection.”

Salzano was first arrested by the FBI in March of 2021: On that day, he was led by FBI agents out of his Riverside Court condo in handcuffs after a police standoff, where Salzano refused to come out of his home for several hours, and armed FBI agents surrounded his condo.

His neighbors in Riverside Court were told to shelter in place inside their homes that afternoon.

At that time, he was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond while the FBI continued to investigate NRIA and his case.

After he was indicted, he was arrested for a second time this week. Salzano now remains in federal custody.

Initial report on Nick Salzano: Secaucus Man Arrested By FBI In Financial Fraud Case (March 2021)

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