A Florida man who formerly lived in Mineola was sentenced to five years’ probation for operating an investment fraud scheme that targeted the Haitian community and stole more than $600,000 from 11 investors, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced.
Marc Henry Menard also was banned from participating in the securities industry for five years during his July 30 sentencing in Nassau County Supreme Court.
Menard pleaded guilty April 17 to second-degree grand larceny, first-degree scheme to defraud and securities fraud.
According to the attorney general’s office, Menard solicited investments through his company, Marcotech LLC, from July 2020 through June 2023.
The scheme targeted members of the Haitian community in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens and Rockland counties, as well as Florida and Georgia.
Menard was not registered to offer or sell securities but allegedly presented himself as an experienced and highly successful trader of stocks and cryptocurrencies.
He promised investors monthly returns ranging from 12% to 20% and offered higher returns to people who recruited additional investors, authorities said.
Instead of investing the money as promised, Menard transferred portions of it into his personal trading accounts. He then engaged in risky day trading and options trading that resulted in losses of more than $670,000 between July 2021 and October 2022.
The attorney general’s investigation also found that Menard used investor funds to repay earlier investors and cover personal expenses.
Authorities said he spent more than $100,000 on a combination of trips to Turkey, Puerto Rico and Disney World, a 2021 Mercedes-Benz, a 2022 BMW and purchases from luxury retailers including Gucci and Louis Vuitton.
Menard also used fabricated financial records to convince investors that their money was generating significant profits, according to investigators.
He showed investors a fake ATM receipt displaying a bank balance of more than $8 million and a fake trading screen showing an account value exceeding $1 million.
Investigators determined that the highest net value of Menard’s trading account during the relevant period was approximately $240,000. The highest balance in his bank account was approximately $301,000.
Attorney General James said Menard lied to investors and used their money to support his own luxury spending.
Menard admitted that he still owes investors a combined $385,271. Judgments for those amounts were entered against him in favor of the victims.
The case was investigated by the attorney general’s Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau with assistance from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Sunrise Police Department, the Broward County State Attorney’s Office and the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
The attorney general’s office advises potential investors to be skeptical of promises of unusually high or guaranteed returns, pressure to invest quickly and offers that provide additional profits for recruiting new participants.
Investment professionals can be checked through FINRA’s BrokerCheck service. Suspected investment fraud can be reported to the attorney general’s office through its online complaint system or by calling 1-800-771-7755.
