Robert J. Sucarato d/b/a New York Financial Company

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 21734 / November 10, 2010

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Robert J. Sucarato d/b/a New York Financial Company, Civil Action No. 09-CV-4953 (D.N.J.)

ROBERT J. SUCARATO d/b/a NEW YORK FINANCIAL COMPANY SETTLES FRAUD CHARGES WITH SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) announced that on October 28, 2010, the Honorable Jerome B. Simandle of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey entered a final judgment against Robert J. Sucarato (Sucarato), who was associated with New York Financial Company (NYFC), an unregistered investment adviser. The Commission's complaint in the action alleged, among other things, that Sucarato raised at least $1,728,954 from several investors by offering investments in two hedge funds purportedly managed by Sucarato and NYFC. The complaint alleged that Sucarato made numerous false and misleading representations about the funds and NYFC, and that Sucarato either misappropriated the investors' funds for his own personal use or lost the funds by making risky investments in commodity options and securities. The complaint further alleged that, despite having never invested the funds or losing the funds that were invested, Sucarato provided false quarterly account statements to clients in which he showed extremely successful hedge funds and claimed huge returns on the investors' individual investments.

Sucarato consented to the entry of the final judgment without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission's complaint. The final judgment entered against Sucarato permanently enjoins him from future violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act), Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act), and orders him to pay disgorgement of $1,205,684, together with prejudgment interest of $140,451, for a total of $1,346,135, provided that the total of such disgorgement and prejudgment interest shall be offset, on a dollar for dollar basis, by any amounts paid by Defendant as restitution pursuant to an order of the Court in the civil case before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Robert J. Sucarato d/b/a New York Financial Company, Civil Action No. 08-cv-1932. In that civil action, on November 23, 2009, a final judgment was entered against Sucarato, permanently enjoining him from violating, among others, the antifraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act, and ordering him to pay restitution of $800,000 and a civil penalty of $1,200,000.

Without admitting or denying the Commission's findings, Sucarato also consented to the issuance of an Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings Pursuant to Section 203(f) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions which bars him from association with any investment adviser.