A crooked investment adviser pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges today for orchestrating a $30 million Ponzi scheme that left longtime clients penniless.
Edward Stein, 59, of Roslyn, L.I., admitted to carrying out the 17-year scam after several angry victims told a Brooklyn federal judge how the swindler stole their life savings to fuel his lavish lifestyle.
“We faithfully saved and invested over the years, only to have Edward Stein trash our 50 years of hard work and squander our future,” said one victim, Rita Clark. “It’s a tremendous betrayal by a man that we knew and trusted for 30 years.”
Stein agreed to serve up to 19 ½ years in prison as he pleaded guilty to securities fraud and wire fraud charges.
“I used very poor judgment. I know what I did was wrong. I know I defrauded investors,” Stein, who spent millions he’d stolen from one client on an expensive Manhattan condominium.