NY Man Sentenced in “Vandelay” Fraud Case

A man in New York was sentenced to 45 months in prison for a fraud scheme that involved a fictitious company that used the name ripped from the fake company George Costanza created to stay on unemployment.

Authorities say Thomas John Sfraga was sentenced to 45 months in prison for fooling people out of over $2 Million using a fake company he called "Vandelay Corp," his own way of giving a nod to Seinfeld's "Vandelay Industries."

Sfraga's method to defraud at least 17 victims, including some in Brooklyn, Staten Island and Long Island, was to convince the victim to loan him money to invest in multiple sham investments like purchasing, renovating, and flipping homes.

From at least 2016 to 2022, Sfraga said he was the owner and principal of multiple businesses - two of which were Build Strong Homes LLC and Vandelay Contracting Corp.

Sfraga pretended to be "T.J. Stone" who was 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 his punishment, he must pay back $1,337,700.

“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.”

One of the victims he convinced gave him $100,000 cash to start-up a non-existent construction project. Another victim was convinced to invest in a cryptocurrency virtual wallet.

In return for the investments, he was promising returns of 60% or more in three months.

Of course, that didn't happen.

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.

Read more at NY Times