Jason Alexander as George Costanza
Maria McCarty | NBCU photo bank | NBCUniversal | Getty Images
Yada, yada, yada, this cryptocurrency crook isn’t laughing now.
A New York man scammed more than $1.3 million from friends, neighbors and investors, including by getting them to invest in fake real estate projects involving a company named after a newspaper joke. classic TV comedy ‘Seinfeld’ and a fictional cryptocurrency, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Thomas John Sfraga, 55, from 2019 through 2022 “represented himself as the owner and director of multiple companies, including Vandelay Contracting Corp.” and Build Strong Homes LLC,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn said in a statement.
“In the TV show ‘Seinfeld’ the character George [Costanza] claimed to have falsely applied for a job at the fictitious company Vandelay Industries,the office noted. In the episode, the invariably unhappy Costanza claims he was looking for a job as a latex salesman.
Sfraga, who adopted the crypto persona of “TJ Stone,” cast himself as a serial entrepreneur with experience in real estate development, media relations, podcasting and cryptocurrencies, prosecutors said, including acting as host or emcee of cryptocurrency events in New York.
Prosecutors said Sfraga promised victims investment returns of up to 60% in three months, but actually used the money for his own benefit “to pay costs, and to pay previous victims and business associates.”
Sfraga, who lives in Brooklyn, pleaded guilty Thursday in Brooklyn federal court to fraud charges, prosecutors said.
He faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, in addition to more than $1.3 million in damages.
