A Rockland County hedge fund manager recently pleaded guilty for swindling investors of more than $2.7 million. Stephen Colangelo Jr., whom prosecutors said misled investors by issuing fraudulent performance statements and other business documents, pleaded guilty to two counts of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud.
Colangelo faces up to 80 years in federal prison for his scam, which involved operating the Brickell Fund L.L.C. and three other companies he created called Hedge Community, Start a Hedge Fund and Under the Radar SEO. Colangelo admitted he was an investment manager and solicited funds from private investors for the Brickwell Fund, misleading them to believe his compensation for managing their investments would depend on his trading success.
Colangelo was found regularly misusing investor money for his personal gain. He was also said to have made claims to investors about investment strategies and alleged profits that weren’t true. He is charged for defrauding investors out of more than $1.6 million through the Brickwell Fund and allegedly stealing more than $1.1 million in his other business ventures.
The Congers resident has been held on a $250,000 bond since his arrest on Nov. 19, 2012. He will serve his jail time at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.
