Thomas Nicholas Salzano, the shadow CEO of National Realty Investment Advisors (NRIA), admitted last week to a $658 million Ponzi scheme orchestrated to defraud more than 2,000 investors, announced U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
In Newark federal court, before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin, Salzano pleaded guilty to securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States. He also admitted to making various misrepresentations to investors and siphoning millions of dollars from those investors for himself, his family and his friends.
The scheme ran from February 2018 through January 2022, as Salzano and others defrauded investors and potential investors of more than $650 million through NRIA Partners Portfolio Fund I.
Salzano had a prior history of fraud at a large telecommunications company, which was one of the reasons he stayed behind the scenes at NRIA in an effort not to raise any eyebrows.
“For years, Sal