Prime Capital Ventures vice president pleads guilty to federal charges

Larry Rulison, Times Union, Albany, N.Y.Times Union

Jun. 11—ALBANY — A second associate of former Prime Capital Ventures CEO Kris Roglieri has pleaded guilty in a widening wire fraud case brought against the now-jailed loan broker.

Kimberly Humphrey, of Virginia Beach, Va., pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Albany to one count of wire fraud and one count of health care fraud. Humphrey was executive vice president for Roglieri's Albany-based firm, Prime Capital Ventures, a loan brokerage that held itself out as a private equity fund.

Humphrey is the second Roglieri associate to plead guilty in the case. The other is Christopher Snyder, the former chief operating officer of Prime Capital Ventures, who in May pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Federal prosecutors say Humphrey and Snyder are brother and sister.

Humphrey is accused in court filings of defrauding the federal government with Medicaid and Tricare, a health care program that serves the U.S. military, through two pharmacies she operated. The wire fraud charge she pleaded guilty to is tied to loan activities related to Prime Capital Ventures and misappropriating loan customer deposits dating back to 2022.

Roglieri has been in jail since being arrested one year ago as part of the investigation into his business dealings at Prime Capital Ventures. The commercial loan brokerage firm was based in Albany before it was shut down along with several other businesses Roglieri used to own.

He is currently facing five wire fraud charges related to a 2023 loan agreement gone bad involving a group of investors looking to build a $100 million egg farm in Minnesota. Roglieri is accused of stealing a $5 million cash deposit provided to his firm as part of the deal and using it to pay for luxury items, legal fees and to repay another client. Federal prosecutors are expecting to file additional charges in the coming weeks that are likely to add to Roglieri's legal woes. He is being represented by a team of public defenders.

Roglieri has maintained his innocence, and in court filings, Roglieri's attorneys have asserted that Roglieri had been defrauded by other firms that promised to provide him with capital to fund the promised loans. Prosecutors have alleged that Roglieri was involved in a Ponzi scheme where he was taking money from new loan clients to repay older customers.