State Attorney General Letitia James has announced the sentencing of a Bridgehampton investment adviser to one to three years in prison for what she described as a “multi-million-dollar securities and loan fraud scheme that cheated dozens of New Yorkers out of nearly $7 million.”
According to a June 26 statement, Shaun Golden, 48, owner of Golden Wealth Management Inc., is also barred from the securities industry for the duration of his probation following incarceration. He has already paid his victims over $2.8 million in restitution and is required, Ms. James said, to pay another $3.5 million through the sale of two properties he owns in Vermont.
He pleaded guilty last August to six felony charges, including second and third-degree grand larceny, falsifying business records, first-degree scheme to defraud, and violation of the Martin Act, which applies when a defendant is alleged to have engaged in acts “with intent to defraud 10 or more persons by false or fraudulent pretenses.”
Ms. James said that between 2015 and 2019, Mr. Golden targeted schoolteachers and people who were at or close to retirement age. He is said to have transferred his clients’ investment funds to his own accounts, including using more than $165,000 to pay personal taxes and to buy a property in Bridgehampton. He also bought five lots in Wilmington, Vt., under his own name, it was charged, and falsified documents to take out loans to develop the land, which included an existing members-only ski club that was in tax arrears and owed tens of thousands of dollars in utility bills.
“In 2019, when his victims began making withdrawal requests, he lied to them, saying that their money had been lost due to financial difficulties,” the attorney general said in the June 26 release.
As a result of his actions, Ms. James said, “many people lost their life savings and some were forced to sell their assets or adjust their mortgages to stay afloat. Additionally, some individuals were unable to afford advanced medical care or contribute to their grandchildren’s college expenses.”
“His crimes upended lives and harmed vulnerable New Yorkers who had spent decades working so they could retire in dignity,” she continued. The June 26 sentencing “brings this criminal to justice, and my office will continue to ensure that those who defraud New Yorkers face the consequences of their harmful actions.”