A former Tuxedo Park developer has admitted that he stole more than $13 million from about 30 people who thought they were investing in Latin America real estate.
Barry Breeman, 75, surrendered on May 9 in U.S. District Court, Manhattan, and pleaded guilty to securities fraud.
Breeman persuaded people to invest in Latin America projects in which he had no involvement and could not honor, according to the criminal complaint, instead “diverting those funds for his personal use and for other unauthorized purposes.”
Breeman was a successful businessman until about 2018, when he suffered a professional setback that is not described in the charging papers. Then he began soliciting investments for sham projects to make up for the loss of income from his legitimate work.
From 2018 through 2024, he sold limited partnerships in real estate projects to which he had no connections or authority to represent, the charging papers state. He lured investors by presenting promotional photographs, prospectuses, and phony profit projections.
Brian Costello, a former neighbor in Tuxedo Park who regarded Breeman as a close friend, sued him this past March. He claims he invested $1.8 million with Breeman, was assured he would earn nearly $5 million, but lost more than $1 million.
Costello says he discovered the scam this past September after Breeman purportedly tried to kill himself. Breeman’s wife showed him a suicide note in which Breeman allegedly revealed that he had been running a $50 million Ponzi scheme that was about to unravel.
Andreas Kailich, of Austria, sued Breeman last year for $1.5 million. He says he invested in a warehouse in Puerto Rico and an office park in Costa Rica and was promised 10% of the profits. When Breeman stopped making distributions, he discovered that the projects did not exist.
Breeman was released from custody on posting $250,000 bail. He is scheduled for sentencing in September on a fraud charge that carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
