An Arizona man was sentenced Monday to 17 years in federal prison for scamming Long Island investors and NHL players out of $17 million in elaborate schemes that included Sag Harbor real estate.
Former financial advisor Phillip Kenner, 51, was convicted in 2015 at Central Islip federal court of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy along with his codefendant, ex-race car driver Tommy Constantine, 54.
“Today’s substantial sentence provides just punishment for the defendant’s victimization of clients, as well as his attempts to shift blame and scapegoat others as his scheme unraveled,” said Seth DuCharme, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “As Kenner has now learned, fraud may seem like easy money in the short run, but when justice catches up with you, the consequences can be significant.”
Prosecutors said that Kenner bought the Sag Harbor property with $395,000 he took from a player’s line of credit without the victim’s permission and convinced another player to pay $375,000 for a 50 percent interest in the property that was later sold at a loss.
Kenner also solicited victims to invest $2 million in Hawaiian real estate, money that Kenner and Constantine used to pay for personal expenses; $1.4 million Eufora LLC, a prepaid debit card business, but diverted the funds elsewhere; and $4.1 million for Mexican land deals that instead paid for Constantine’s racecar and home, according to investigators.
Kenner had befriended a hockey player who was later drafted by an NHL team while the two enrolled at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate Troy, New York, and later advised other players when he worked at a financial firm in Boston, authorities said.
Constantine has yet to be sentenced.
