Ronald Hardy, a manager at Power Traders Press, My Street Research and predecessor companies located in Melville and Dennis Verderosa, a cold-caller and account executive at the boiler room, were sentenced to 10 and six years’ imprisonment, respectively, for their participation in a $147 million scheme that defrauded investors.
Hardy was also ordered to forfeit the contents of a bank account and two properties he owned in Sarasota, Fla., and Verderosa was ordered to pay
$341,883 in forfeiture. The amount of restitution to be paid by the defendants will be determined by the court at a later date. Hardy pleaded guilty in August 2018 to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, substantive securities fraud and money laundering, and Verderosa pleaded guilty in April 2018 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States attorney for the Eastern District of New
York, and William F. Sweeney, Jr., assistant director-in-charge, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the sentences.
“Hardy and Verderosa have been punished for luring vulnerable victims, many of
them in their 70s, 80s and 90s, into a web of lies in order to steal their life savings,” Donoghue said. “This office will continue working tirelessly with our law
enforcement partners to protect investors from calculating conmen.”
Between January 2014 and July 2017, Hardy, Verderosa and 14 co-defendants
participated in a scheme that defrauded investors in publicly traded companies by artificially inflating the price and trading volume of stock of the companies, and making misrepresentations in their communications with victim investors concerning the advisability of purchasing the stock and its potential profitability. The defendants, some of whom controlled stock in the manipulated companies, profited while the victim investors lost millions of dollars when the
stock prices plummeted.
Taped to the wall of the boiler room where the cold callers made these
misrepresentations was a sign that read, “WE’LL POUND THE PHONE AND WITH A
LITTLE BIT OF LUCK, WE’LL MAKE A TON OF MONEY AND WON’T GIVE A F—.”
Ten co-defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Four others
are scheduled for trial.
Previously, co-defendant Emin Cohen was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment
and McArthur Jean to four years’ imprisonment for their roles in the scheme.
Defendants Sentenced Thursday:
RONALD HARDY
Age: 42
Port Jefferson
DENNIS VERDEROSA
Age: 67
Coram
Defendants Previously Sentenced:
EMIN L. COHEN (also known as “Ian Grant”)
Age: 33
Coram
MCARTHUR JEAN (also known as “John McArthur”)
Age: 34
Dix Hills