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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
that a Pennsylvania woman was sentenced
today for stealing more than $275,000 from
New Jersey clients of the investment firm
she ran with her boyfriend, which offered
specialized financial services for podiatrists.
Vincella
L. Ross, 39, of Green Lane, Pa., was ordered
by Superior Court Judge Harry G. Carrol
in Bergen County to serve five years probation,
conditioned on time served. Ross has been
in the Bergen County Jail since Sept. 27,
2007. Ross was also ordered to pay $276,566
in restitution. The sentence is pursuant
to Ross’s July 3 guilty plea to conspiracy,
a charge contained in a Sept. 26, 2007 state
grand jury indictment.
On
May 16, Judge Carroll sentenced Ross’s
boyfriend, Jeffrey Scott Lafferty, 40, who
lives with her in Green Lane, to 10 years
in state prison. Lafferty was ordered to
pay $790,813 in restitution to his victims
and surrender his New Jersey insurance producer
license. Lafferty pleaded guilty on March
31 to second-degree charges of securities
fraud and misapplication of entrusted property.
The charges were part of the Sept. 26, 2007
state grand jury indictment.
The
charges stem from a joint investigation
by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities,
New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice,
FBI, U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Postal
Inspection Service.
Lafferty
and Ross were managing partners and owners
of Lafferty & Partners LLC, which had
a mailing address in Red Bank, N.J., and
specialized in private wealth management
for podiatrists. Lafferty admitted that
between Sept. 1, 2002 and July 26, 2007,
he stole approximately $790,000 from clients,
including a Bergen County podiatrist, his
wife, his office manager and other investors
across the U.S. Rather than investing the
funds for the clients as promised, Lafferty
admitted that he used the money to purchase
the home he shares with Ross in Pennsylvania
and cover their personal expenses, including
mortgage payments, airline tickets, hotel
rooms, store purchases and ATM withdrawals.
In pleading guilty today, Ross admitted
that she conspired with Lafferty in connection
with the theft of $276,566 from New Jersey
clients of their firm.
Clients
received monthly statements from Lafferty
& Partners that falsely represented
that their money was invested. Lafferty
issued fraudulent “dividend checks”
to some of the out-of-state investors to
reinforce the appearance that their money
had been properly invested.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney
General Francine S. Ehrenberg of the Division
of Criminal Justice Major Crimes Bureau,
who represented the state at today’s
sentencing. Investigator Pamela Fischer
led the investigation for the New Jersey
Bureau of Securities. Detective Cheryl Smith
and Lt. John Jespersen worked on the investigation
for the Division of Criminal Justice.
Attorney
General Milgram credited special agents
of the FBI’s Newark Division; special
agents from the U.S. Department of Labor,
Office of Inspector General; agents from
the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits
Security Administration; and inspectors
from the Newark Division of the U.S. Postal
Inspection Service. Attorney General Milgram
also thanked U.S. Attorney Christopher J.
Christie and his staff for their assistance.
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