A former Montauk businessman has pleaded guilty to five counts of grand larceny after admitting to stealing close to $400,000 from clients over three years.
According to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, Mark Ripolone, 35, took a plea deal in which New York State Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins will sentence him on Dec. 19 to 840 hours of community service and restitution of $143,379, as an alternative to six months in jail, plus five years' probation.
If he fails to pay up by that date, Mr. Ripolone faces a sentence of two to six years in prison.
"This defendant was a thief operating under the guise of an entrepreneur," Mr. Tierney said in a statement Tuesday. "Instead of conducting business with integrity and honesty, he stole money from his own customers to line his pockets. Because of his greed, this defendant must now reimburse his victims, or go to prison."
Mr. Ripolone was the owner of a food delivery service, 123 Delivery, and of Hampton Management Group Inc., which provided clients with luxury beach-chair setups for parties and events. He was arrested in June 2022, and first answered the charges in East Hampton Town Justice Court, before his grand jury indictment about 11 months later.
Between September 2018 and October 2021, Mr. Tierney said, Mr. Ripolone siphoned $225,000 from the bank accounts of customers of 123 Delivery "under the guise of conducting legitimate business affairs." He is said to have used the money for credit card debts, a home mortgage payment, and Verizon phone bills.
In April and May 2020, Mr. Ripolone ripped off a payroll company by funneling money to his personal account "when he did not have any funds available to reimburse the payroll company," Mr. Tierney said.
Mr. Ripolone is being represented by Jeremy Scileppi, a Commack attorney, who could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. The case was prosecuted by Donna Planti, an assistant district attorney with the Financial Crimes Unit, with investigative help from Detective Sgt. Ryan Hogan of the East Hampton Town Police Department, Lt. Robert Drake of the Sag Harbor Village Police Department, and New York State Police Investigator Michael Ferris.