Four from Glen Cove Charged in ‘Boiler Room’ Scam

By Chris O’Neill

Four Glen Cove residents were arrested and charged with multiple federal felonies for running a “Boiler Room Scam” according to federal prosecutors.

Arrested in Glen Cove were Michael D’Urso (54), Alyssa D’Urso (28) and Antonella Chiaramonte (36), on the morning of Feb. 9th. Jay Garnock (75), also of Glen Cove, was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida. Robert Booth (68) of Brooklyn was arrested at JFK airport.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of NY charged the five for involvement in an international ‘Boiler Room Fraud’ and money laundering scheme.

The five are accused of defrauding investors of over $8.4 million, using false advertising and a network of shell companies and accounts to lure victims into making fake investments in American companies.

Booth, for example, operated a ‘boiler room’ in Thailand that he passed off as being in Manhattan.

In addition to money laundering (max 20 years), all five are charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud (max 5 years) and conspiracy to commit wire fraud (max 20 years).

A ‘Boiler room’ in the world of investment is a place or operation where high-pressure salespeople call lists of potential investors (‘sucker lists’) to peddle speculative, sometimes fraudulent, securities. Sucker lists identify victims of previous scams.