MINEOLA, NY – Rand Heckler, 67, a former investment broker from Glen Cove, pleaded guilty yesterday before Judge Terence Murphy to one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. Heckler ran a $1 million Ponzi scheme that targeted friends and neighbors, duping them into investing with him and using their money to pay for his mortgage, country club membership, and other expenses.
Between December 2015 and January 2020, the victims wrote Heckler 24 checks, totaling $755,159. Heckler provided the victims with false statements and trade confirmations as proof that the stocks had been purchased. The Ponzi scheme was discovered in May 2020, after receiving the case from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Heckler is expected to be sentenced to 2-1/2 to 7-1/2 years in prison, forfeit $48,000 that was seized from his bank account, and receive a civil judgement order for the restitution balance. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Betty Rodriguez of the Financial Crimes Bureau and Senior Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Russo of the Civil Forfeiture Bureau.