Insurance Agent Who Scammed Elderly Pleads Guilty To Hate Crime Charges
A Staten Island insurance agent who ran a business on the Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights border admitted to defrauding elderly clients out of nearly $4.5 million on Tuesday.
Paul Simoneschi, 70, pleaded guilty to first-degree scheme to defraud, first-degree money laundering and second-degree grand larceny as a hate crime, Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson announced.
“Shamefully, this defendant destroyed the retirements of elderly people who trusted him with their life savings,” said Thompson. “Some of them considered him a friend, but that did not stop him from taking advantage of their age and lack of financial knowledge to steal their money.”
Additionally, Simoneschi’s corporation, Simmons Planning Group & Agency, Inc., pleaded guilty to first-degree scheme to defraud, first-degree money laundering and second-degree grand larceny.
As we’ve reported, between March 10, 2008 and July 29, 2015, the defendant operated Simmons Planning Group & Agency Inc. — located at 8403 7th Avenue — and developed long-term relationships with many clients, including senior citizens who were not financially savvy, sometimes speaking to Italian-born immigrants in their native tongue to gain their trust.
The conman wound up pocketing $4.5 million in retirement plans and life savings from 21 clients. The victims lost amounts ranging from $1,000 to over $1 million.
Simoneschi took steps conceal his crimes providing false documents to many of his victims, including copies of “new” policies opened on their behalf. At times, he gave them checks purported to be distributions from their policies or accounts, but which were actually checks from other accounts he controlled.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun, who presided over the case, indicated he would sentence the defendant to an indeterminate term of four to 12 years in prison on March 21. Simoneschi signed judgment orders of restitution totaling $4,477,562, which is the amount he stole from his victims.