A former investment broker from Glen Cove has been sentenced to up to seven and a half years in prison for orchestrating a $1 million Ponzi scheme that deceived friends and neighbors.
Rand Heckler, 67, was sentenced today by Judge Terence Murphy after pleading guilty in April 2023 to one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. Heckler’s scheme involved convincing close acquaintances to invest in a bogus hedge fund, only to use their money to pay off other investors and fund his personal expenses, including his mortgage and country club fees.
Beginning in 2015, Heckler proposed to his friends and their families to invest in a supposed exclusive hedge fund he managed. Between December 2015 and January 2020, his victims wrote 24 checks totaling $755,159, believing they were investing in a legitimate hedge fund. Heckler provided them with falsified statements and trade confirmations to substantiate his claims.
In January 2020, one of the victims, through his son who held power of attorney, requested $100,000 from his investment account. Heckler wired the money after several weeks, claiming it came from stock sales. However, an investigation by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, initiated by a referral from the Securities and Exchange Commission, revealed that the $100,000 had been directly transferred from another victim.
The second victim, a neighbor of Heckler, had been led to believe she was investing her deceased husband’s life insurance payout into the hedge fund. Unbeknownst to her, the money was used to fulfill the first victim’s withdrawal request. She only learned of the deception when contacted by NCDA investigators.
Further investigation uncovered additional victims who had been defrauded similarly. Heckler had also cold-called potential investors in other states, luring them into his scheme.
Heckler used the misappropriated funds to pay for his mortgage, a country club membership, credit card bills, and daily expenses such as dry cleaning and phone bills. In total, he stole $1,004,159 from four victims.
In addition to his prison sentence, Heckler has been ordered to pay restitution, with a civil judgment for the outstanding balance of $919,160 and the forfeiture of $48,000 seized from his bank account. The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office had recommended a sentence of three to nine years in prison.
“This defendant executed a classic Ponzi scheme, promising his friends and neighbors high-value investments, using money from new investors to pay earlier ones, and ultimately stealing a total of more than $1 million from several victims,” said Nassau County District Attorney AnneDonnelly. “Heckler lived large off of his victims’ funds, paying for a country club membership, the mortgage on his home, and his daily living expenses. Having a trusted financial advisor is essential to making safe and smart investments. Rand Heckler used the trust of friends and neighbors against them only to enrich himself.”
If you believe you have been victimized by Rand Heckler, please contact the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office at (631) 853-4626.
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