LI Man Ran Ponzi Scheme, Stole $7.5M From Elderly Investors: DA

A Long Island financial planner is accused of stealing $7.5 million from elderly clients in a Ponzi scheme, Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini said.

Steven Pagartanis, 58, was arraigned in Suffolk County District Court in Central Islip Wednesday on two counts of first degree grand larceny and two counts of second degree grand larceny, both felonies.

Pagartanis, of East Setauket, is the owner of Omega Planning Associates, a financial planning business located in Setauket. He allegedly told victims he was investing their money in Genesis Land Development Corp., a building and land development company based in Calgary, Canada, Sini said.

“The defendant described to victims a great investment they could make by trusting him with their hard-earned money,” he said. “In some cases, victims gave the defendant their life savings. The defendant then used those monies to pay off earlier investors in his scheme and to fund his personal lifestyle.”

Sini said his office has identified over a dozen victims in the scheme and "we believe there are more victims out there."

We are asking the public: If you invested money with this defendant or if you have any information about this defendant, please call the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office at 631-853-5602.”

The four victims included in the felony complaints, who range in age from 64 to 83 years old, began investing in the scheme as early as 2013, Sini said. The case was brought to the attention of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office by a family member of one of the victims.

“This particular defendant preyed on the elderly; he targeted those who he perceived to be vulnerable,” Sini said. “For those individuals who take care of their parents or grandparents, it’s important to remain vigilant to ensure that our senior citizens are not being taken advantage of.”

In a YouTube video posted in 2009 (watch it below), Pagartanis spoke about his business.

Pursuant to a concurrent investigation by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., Pagartanis was barred from acting as a securities broker on April 10, 2018, Sini said. In addition to the criminal charges, a civil lawsuit was filed against Pagartanis Wednesday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Pagartanis was released following his arraignment on supervised release with GPS monitoring. He is due back in court on July 24.

SCDA provided photo of Steven Pagartanis