Brooklyn resident Thomas John Sfraga on Thursday was sentenced to 45 months in prison for wire fraud after pleading guilty to swindling investors in real estate and crypto currently scams.
Sfraga defrauded at least 17 victims, including individuals in Brooklyn, Staten Island and Long Island, by convincing them to loan him money for, or to invest in, multiple sham investments including purchasing, renovating and flipping homes, according to federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York.
From at least 2016 to 2022, Sfraga said he was the owner and principal of multiple businesses, including Build Strong Homes LLC and Vandelay Contracting Corp. The latter company had a name similar to the fictional “Vandelay Industries,” which the character George Constanza falsely claimed to have interviewed with for a job in the television show “Seinfeld.”
Sfraga held himself out as “T.J. Stone,” a serial entrepreneur with experience in real estate development, media relations, podcasting and cryptocurrencies, which included acting as the emcee of many cryptocurrency events in New York.
As part of the sentence, Sfraga was ordered to pay back $1,337,700, according to a press release.
“Sfraga callously stole from friends, next-door neighbors, and the parents of children who played on teams with his own children, as well as from individual cryptocurrency investors,” stated United States Attorney John J. Durham. “There was nothing funny about his use of a Seinfeldian company, Vandelay Industries, to carry out this fraud, which caused severe financial and emotional harm to the hard-working men and women who trusted him.”
On one occasion, Sfraga convinced a victim to lend him $100,000 in cash as start-up costs for a non-existent construction project. On another, Sfraga convinced a victim to invest in a fictitious cryptocurrency “virtual wallet.” He promised the victims returns on their investments as high as 60% in three months.
In reality, Sfraga used the money for his own benefit, to pay expenses and to pay earlier victims and business associates, federal prosecutors said.
When law enforcement began investigating Sfraga after victims filed lawsuits, he fled to Arizona to live under a false identity. He was eventually apprehended in Las Vegas after being arrested for running out on his bill at the Wynn Casino.
