Joseph Orazio DeGregorio Charged in $1.2 Million Fraud of Elderly Clients

Joseph Orazio DeGregorio, a former broker from the New Jersey/New York area was ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to repay more than $1 million in ill-gotten gains. DeGregorio was civilly charged by the SEC with defrauding elderly clients according to a recent article in Financial Advisor. Degregorio was charged in March of 2022 by the SEC with misappropriating approximately $1.2 million from elderly clients over a five-year period.

The SEC stated in a press release that between October 2015 and March 2021, Joseph Orazio DeGregorio solicited just under $1 million from one 80-year old investor and nearly $205,000 from three other elderly investors for “various fictitious investments.” DeGregorio allegedly told investors their funds would be used to purchase promissory notes guaranteeing a 13% annual return. He allegedly falsely claimed he would invest the funds in two private companies. According to the SEC complaint, the promissory notes never existed, and the funds raised were “funneled to a companies owned by DeGregorio,” allegedly created for the sole purpose of facilitating his fraud and did not carry out any actual business activities according to the SEC. The complaint further alleged that Joseph Orazio DeGregorio did not use any of the investor money for legitimate investments, but instead misappropriated the funds for personal expenses and gambling.

According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, available to the public on FINRA’s website, Joseph Orazio DeGregorio, was in the securities industry for 14 years and was listed with 14 firms. DeGregorio was suspended by FINRA from acting as a broker. The SEC barred DeGregorio from acting as a broker or investment advisor or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities or provide investment advice to the public. The SEC charged DeGregorio with violating the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and 1934, among other antifraud rules. DeGregorio has 15 disclosures on his FINRA CRD report.

Two of the firms Joseph Orazio DeGregorio was recently listed with were GARDEN STATE SECURITIES, INC. of Hackensack, New Jersey, and FIRST STANDARD FINANCIAL COMPANY LLC of Staten Island, New York.

If you or an elderly loved one have experienced financial losses due to the actions or recommendations of Joseph Orazio DeGregorio, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer at no cost regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses through a FINRA arbitration at:  888-760-6552.

Soreide Law Group represents clients nationally before FINRA on a contingency fee basis, no fee to you if no recovery.