A Staten Island, N.Y., man involved in a $2.5 million real estate investment scheme that targeted investors, many of whom were elderly and some of whom had dementia, was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison.
Yevgeniy Braziler, 42, of Midland Beach, promised investors to use their money to "purchase, renovate, rent and resell residential real estate in and around Buffalo and Niagara Falls" while promising high returns, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District.
He and his associates allegedly ran the scam from 2002 to 2016.
In his sales pitch, Braziler allegedly promised investors between a 6% and 60% profit, the Staten Island Advance previously reported.
In reality, Braziler used at least $323,510 of the money for his personal expenses, including paying credit card bulls, pet supplies, alcohol, restaurants and his child's tuition, authorities said.
"The day of reckoning has finally arrived for Mr. Braziler who lacked the moral compass to do the right thing for his investment clients," Philip R. Bartlett, the inspector-in-charge of the New York Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, said in a release. "In many of these cases, he stole from seniors who worked their entire lives saving for a brighter future. Mr. Braziler will have plenty of time in prison to consider the impact his crimes have had on the victims in this case."
According to authorities, investors sent one of Braziler's investment vehicles, Buffalo Housing, at least $978,000, but he only purchased one property for approximately $12,000, and kept most of the money for himself and others.
At Braziler's Midland Beach home Friday, a man who identified himself as a relative said he didn't know anything about the case and declined comment.
