N.Y.C. Man (Not George Costanza) Sentenced for ‘Vandelay’ Con
The New York Times
Thomas John Sfraga appropriated the name from a scheming “Seinfeld” character as he bilked friends and neighbors. He was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Thursday.
Thomas John Sfraga would approach friends and neighbors with a promise of extraordinary returns if they invested in his businesses. Sign a check for $40,000, Mr. Sfraga told one, and get your money back in just one year, plus more than 30 percent interest.
But the name of one business — Vandelay — was a red flag that the investments were about nothing.
Mr. Sfraga’s Vandelay Contracting Corp. — whose namesake appears to be Art Vandelay, the fake entrepreneur whom George Constanza frequently cited on “Seinfeld” — was a vehicle for lining his pockets, prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York said.
Mr. Sfraga, 56, kept investors’ money for himself or used it to pay people who had bought in earlier, according to the prosecutors. On Thursday, Mr. Sfraga was sentenced to 45 months in prison, with credit for 15 months served, after pleading guilty to wire fraud last May. Judge Frederic Block also ordered him to pay $1.5 million in restitution.
“What you’ve done here is really inexcusable,” Judge Block told Mr. Sfraga. “Nonetheless, you have some redeeming qualities.”
In court, Sam Jacobson, a lawyer for Mr. Sfraga, said that Mr. Sfraga didn’t set out to dupe his investors. In a statement, Mr. Sfraga apologized to the victims and said he carried out the scheme under crushing debt.
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