$65M Ponzi Scheme: Former NY Hedge Fund Manager Admits To Lending Fraud

A former bond trader and hedge fund manager in New York could spend decades in federal prison for defrauding his friends and lending institutions out of over $65 million.

Nassau County resident Jeffrey Parket, age 59, of Great Neck, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and bank fraud in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday, Feb. 15.

According to the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District, Parket swindled his victims out of millions of dollars between 2016 and December 2021 by lying about his financial condition and pledging fake collateral in order to obtain short-term loans.

He claimed he needed the money for investment opportunities or real estate purchases when in reality he had no intention of repaying the loans, prosecutors said.

To pull off the ruse, Parket submitted hundreds of pages of supporting documents, including falsified bank statements and contracts that allegedly showed his ownership interests in valuable investment accounts. He also used the names, titles, and forged signatures of actual company executives who he claimed were business associates, prosecutors said.

Investigators determined that Parket used loans from new lenders to pay back earlier lenders.

He also convinced existing lenders to extend the maturity date of his loans or provide him millions of dollars in additional loans by lying about delayed acquisitions and temporary liquidity issues, according to prosecutors.

Parket's victims included friends and professional acquaintances, as well as short-term bridge lenders, a real estate services company, and an insurance company that helps clients save for retirement.

He also persuaded several family members to wire him money by promising to invest their life savings on their behalf, prosecutors said. In reality, the money went toward paying off his existing loans.

"Parket traded on his reputation as a respected financier and fabricated paper assets to defraud lenders of millions of dollars in loans that they never would have made if not for his lies and the sophisticated ruses he used to support those lies," US Attorney Damien Williams said in a statement.

"His scheme cost some of his victims everything they had. He will now be held accountable for his deceit."

In court Wednesday, Parket pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution and one count of bank fraud. Each count carries up to 30 years in federal prison.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 2023.