At the federal court in Central Islip, a 16-count indictment was unsealed against Adam and Daniel Kaplan, two Long Island-based investment advisers, on July 25.
The indictment includes conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, investment advisor fraud, and money laundering in connection with several schemes to steal millions of dollars from their clients.
Both Kaplan brothers were arrested and charged on Tuesday.
What did the Kaplan brothers allegedly do?
“As alleged, the Kaplans engaged in years-long schemes violating the trust that their clients, some of them elderly and vulnerable, had placed in them to manage their money safely and honestly,” Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a news release. “The defendants lined their pockets at the victims’ expense, but with their lies and frauds exposed, they will be held to account for their conduct.”
In that news release, Peace’s office alleged that between May 2018 and November 2022, Adam and Daniel Kaplan acted as investment advisors for hundreds of clients.
The Kaplan brothers allegedly targeted the elderly in particular, using various schemes including over-billing for advisement fees, siphoning money from bank accounts through fraudulent advisory fee charges and through purported investments the Kaplan brothers never intended to make.
“As alleged, the Kaplans engaged in multiple investment fraud schemes that victimized their clients, many of whom were elderly or disabled,” Christie M. Curtis, acting Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said. “This type of illegal activity is unfortunately all too common and even more egregious when vulnerable groups are targeted. “The FBI will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who exploit their clients by misappropriating their funds for personal gain.”
The name of the case is United States v. Kaplan and Kaplan. If charged, the Kaplan brothers could face up to 20 years in prison.
