Bala Cynwyd Man Stole $3.3 Million From Investors, Authorities Say

A Levering Mill Road resident ran a four-year "Ponzi scheme" fraud that ripped off eight investors for a total of more than $3.3 million, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman and township Police Chief Michael J. McGrath announced Thursday.

Ira Pressman, of East Levering Mill Road's unit block in Bala Cynwyd, is charged with several offenses including corrupt organizations, theft by deception, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and violations of the Pennsylvania Securities Act, according to a statement from Ferman.

Pressman solicited investments without a license and kept for himself the money he had promised would fuel a profitable venture, authorities said. He forestalled suspicion with forged invoices and purchase orders.

From 2007 to 2010, authorities said, Pressman stole $3,318,491.50 from eight people. The district attorney's office did not say where the victims are from.

District Justice Henry Schireson arraigned Pressman on Thursday, and the defendant was held in Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of payment on his $1 million bail.