By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A former Wall Street tycoon who pretended he was Belgian royalty to deceive investors pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Guy De Chimay, 47, was once featured on a TV reality series "Wall Street Warriors" and used to be a Manhattan stock broker.
According to prosecutors, De Chimay stole more than $7 million from investors and spent the dough on a Hamptons rental home, cars, his mortgage and other personal expenses.
He earned the trust of investors by claiming he was a wealthy member of the Chimay family of Belgium, when in fact he was a distant relative, according to prosecutors. He showed investors false return statements to convince them their investments were secure, prosecutors said.
The money he took from various investors was in reality being pocketed, he admitted Wednesday when he pleaded guilty to grand larceny, forgery and other charges.
"The defendant used his distant connection to the Chimay royal family to gain the trust of his victims — his friends — before ripping them off," Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. said in a statement.
"This case is a classic example of the type of financial criminal activity that exploded in an era of selfishness," the DA added.
De Chimay is expected to be sentenced to three to nine years in prison in exchange for his plea.
