STEVEN PAGARTANIS, Formerly with Cadaret Grant in Setauket, New York Charged with $8 Million Scheme

STEVEN PAGARTANIS (STEVE PAGARTANIS) CRD#: 1958879, a 58 year-old former financial advisor was charged with two counts of first-degree larceny and two counts of second-degree larceny by the Suffolk County, New York prosecutors. A separate action was filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Federal District Court in Brooklyn, New York. This alleged fraud happened between 2013 and 2018, according to the SEC. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office has filed parallel criminal charges.
Allegedly, Pagartanis had promised his investors to invest their $8M into land developments, but never made a single investment. According to the SEC, Steven Pagartanis, told nine clients, mostly retirees and longtime clients, their money would be invested into either a publicly traded or privately held land-development company and Pagartanis guaranteed fixed interest rates of up to 8% annually. The SEC believes this alleged Ponzi scheme was an $8 million investment scam. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred Pagartanis from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with a broker-dealer firm.
According to the SEC, nearly $7 million was to be invested Genesis Land Development, a publicly traded company based in Canada, but after telling his clients to make their checks payable to “Genesis,” Pagartanis allegedly deposited the money into his own shell company Genesis I Holdings.
The court records stated that Steven Pagartanis provided some of the investors with fictitious account statements indicating that they owned Genesis Land Development stock and its financial statements.
Pagartanis used approximately $1.8 million to make monthly interest payments to investors, according to the SEC, and he also made cash withdrawals around $175,000 from Genesis I's bank account. The account balance in February of 2018 was around $8,000, according to court records.
According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, Pagartanis was registered with Lombard Securities as of September 2018, and worked at the firm’s Setauket, New York branch office. Pagartanis was discharged from Lombard Securities in March after the allegations surfaced. FINRA barred Pagartanis in April after he failed to appear for on-the-record testimony in connection with FINRA’s investigation. He previously worked with Cadaret Grant, in Setauket, New York, most recently from 09/17/2012 - 03/20/2017, during the period of the alleged wrongdoing.
STEVEN PAGARTANIS has 13 Disclosures on his BrokerCheck report, with 9 of them “Customer Disputes.”  Pagartanis has been in the securities industry for 28 years and was listed with 14 firms.
If you suffered losses due to this alleged Ponzi-scheme allegedly orchestrated by STEVEN PAGARTANIS, formerly of Cadaret Grant in Setauket, New York, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses through a FINRA arbitration at:  888-760-6552.
Soreide Law Group represents clients nationwide before FINRA and we operate on a contingency fee basis.