NEW YORK — A Ponzi schemer who took investors for nearly a million dollars by convincing them that they could cash in on resales of merchandise to TJ Maxx was sentenced to up to six years in prison on Thursday.
A morose Daniel Fodiman, 52, ran a five-year fraud scheme telling investors that he was purchasing merchandise to re-sell to TJ Maxx, when in fact he was paying off other investors and lining his own pockets with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, according to his guilty plea that was submitted on Feb. 23, 2016.
He must repay $843,000 in restitution to his victims.
Despite his promises to investors, Fodiman never sold any merchandise to TJ Maxx, according to the DA. In addition to sending fake emails from a purported TJ Maxx account, he provided investors with falsified TJ Maxx purchase orders and bank statements.
“Ponzi schemes often promise quick, easy returns,” said District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., in a statement. “Unfortunately, sometimes the premise of low-risk profit is based on outright lies. In this case, the defendant deceived his victims into investing their money with him, and then supplied them with falsified financial records in order to keep cash flowing into the scheme, as well as into his own pockets.”
Fodiman has been in custody since his arrest on May 3, 2015, according to his lawyer. The defendant had no prior arrests.
"Hopefully, he'll put this behind him and move on with his life," said his lawyer Glenn Abolafia, after the hearing.
