Scam Artist Who Targeted Seniors Sentenced to 5-15 Years in Prison

Dawson bilked 53 people out of more than $11M in Ponzi investment scheme

MINEOLA, NY – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that Peter Dawson, a financial adviser convicted of ripping off 53 clients, many of them senior citizens, to the tune of more than $11 million, has been sentenced by a Nassau County judge to serve five to 15 years in prison. In December, Dawson pleaded guilty to two top counts of felony Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree.

Dawson, 51, of Huntington was arrested December 22, 2006 after investors started complaining that the investment returns that Dawson promised them weren’t being seen. Dawson would promise large returns on stocks and annuities and slowly dole out small amounts of money, but never the significant figures clients were promised. Nassau County Police executed a search warrant and discovered that Dawson was keeping a majority of the money for himself, having only distributed about $3.5 million to his clients.

Dawson also encouraged clients to take out mortgages on their homes and give him the money to invest. Instead, Dawson kept most of the money and in some cases, left homeowners months behind in mortgage payments. Several homeowners are currently fighting to prevent foreclosure on their homes as a result of Mr. Dawson’s schemes.

Dawson pleaded guilty to the charges against him on December 13, 2007.  He was sentenced this morning by County Court Judge Jeffrey Brown.  The judge also ordered that Dawson must pay $7,720,419.51 in further restitution to the victims of his crimes.  He has been incarcerated in the Nassau County Jail since his arrest.

“Mr. Dawson preyed on his clients, many of them elderly, in order to line his own pockets, and he abused his position of trust to satisfy his own lifestyle,” Rice said.  Rice said that Dawson bought expensive office furniture, fountain pens, and rare coins in maintaining a lavish lifestyle.  “Like all Ponzi schemes, this one collapsed under the weight of greed.”

Assistant District Attorney William J. Wallace, Deputy Bureau Chief for the Government/Consumer Frauds Bureau is handling the case for the District Attorney’s Office. Dawson is being represented by Peter Tomao, Esq.