Rockland Resident Accused In $1.5 Million Cryptocurrency Scam

PIERMONT, NY — A Piermont resident is accused of lying to investors about being a licensed broker with expertise in cryptocurrency in order to steal money and finance a lavish livestyle.

Jeffrey Tognetti, 26, faces a federal charge of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

“As alleged, Jeffrey Tognetti, Jr., perpetrated a classic investment fraud scheme, lying to victims about his qualifications in order to lure supposed investments, only to misappropriate those funds,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in an announcement about the indictment.

The scheme started in July 2022 and grossed at least $1.5 million, prosecutors said, alleging that Tognetti told his victims he was a licensed Series 3 and 7 broker in New York, New Jersey, and Florida, and that he would invest funds he received from victims in the stock market and cryptocurrency.

He routinely made false oral and written statements, including lies that he worked at a hedge fund known as Parallax Capital Advisors LLC and created technology that allowed him to profitably trade cryptocurrency, prosecutors said.

“The defendant is alleged to have defrauded his victims through an ongoing web of misrepresentations and deceit to fund his lavish lifestyle,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo.

Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Tognetti’s alleged scheme can contact the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations with this form.

“The career prosecutors of this Office are experts in prosecuting this kind of financial fraud, and thanks to our law enforcement partners, Tognetti now faces the repercussions of his alleged crime,” Williams said.