Ex-broker Steven Pagartanis Sentenced to Prison for Fraud

Have you suffered losses investing with former financial advisor Steven Pagartanis in Long Island, NY?

Steven Pagartanis, former Long Island financial advisor, was reportedly sentenced to 170 months in prison Thursday for a $9 million fraud scheme that mainly targeted elderly single women, according to officials.

According to news reports, U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack, in an unusual ruling, ordered Pagartanis, 60, to be immediately sent to prison, noting that probation officers and prosecutors said he allegedly refused to provide them with full financial information, and that he had reportedly been receiving food stamps though he was not financially eligible.

Although white-collar criminals are usually allowed to surrender to a federal prison at a later date, federal marshals took Pagatarnis directly from the courtroom to prison, according to news reports.

Additionally, the judge ordered Pagartanis to pay $6.5 million in restitution and serve three years of supervised release.

According to the Eastern District Assistant United States Attorney Artie McConnell, “The defendant targeted elderly investors, the overwhelming majority of whom were single women. Many had recently been widowed or had a recent tragic circumstance, such as the death of a child or other family member. Many had dependents or illnesses that involved substantial regular costs. In all instances, the victims were not financially sophisticated and trusted the defendant, who knew that their respective ages and family circumstances made them especially susceptible to his scheme.”

According to reports, Pagartanis allegedly lied to his victims, telling them that he was investing their money for a regular 8% return in one of two companies, a Canadian firm, Genesis Land Development Corp., or Sonesta International Hotels Corp., using the literature from the businesses available on the internet, or other fake documents.

Instead of investing the money, Pagartanis purportedly used the money to pay for his “lavish lifestyle” and in Ponzi-like fashion, payed back earlier investors with victims’ money, according to the US attorney. More than a dozen victims reportedly invested $13 million with Pagartanis, losing $9 million between 2000 and 2018.

According to his FINRA BrokerCheck report, Pagartanis was registered with Cadaret, Grant & Co. in East Setauket, NY from September 2012 until he was reportedly fired in March 2017. Then he reportedly spent 6 months working for Lombard Securities until he was discharged for failure to provide information “on unapproved investments allegedly made outside of the firm by a customer and why the broker failed to notify the firm regarding such outside investments.”

FINRA reportedly barred Pagartanis from the securities industry in April 2018 for failure to provide testimony “in connection with its investigation of allegations that he made fraudulent misrepresentation to customers and misappropriated customers’ funds.”

Recovery of Investment Losses

The White Law Group continues to investigate the liability that Pagartanis’ employers may have for failing to properly supervising him.

Brokerage firms are required to properly supervise their advisors. They must ensure that those advisors are complying with applicable FINRA rules and regulations. If it can be demonstrated that his former employers failed to properly supervise Pagartanis, they may be held responsible for the losses in a FINRA arbitration claim.

If you are concerned about your investments with Steven Pagartanis and would like a free consultation to discuss your litigation options, please call The White Law Group at 1-888-637-5510.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Franklin, Tennessee.