Saranac Lake Man Sentenced for Securities Fraud

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Mark Gillis, age 48, of Saranac Lake, New York, was sentenced today to time served, to be followed by 1 year of home detention, for defrauding customers of his brokerage firm out of nearly $400,000.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Peter F. Magnetto, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In 2012, Gillis was a co-owner of Hudson Valley Capital Management, Inc., a securities broker-dealer with offices in Saranac Lake and Croton-on-Hudson, New York.  Gillis was a licensed stockbroker and worked out of Saranac Lake. 

Gillis admitted to purchasing shares of a stock and then transferring the shares to three Hudson Valley customers at improper markups of up to 280%.  As a result of the markups, Gillis stole $379,652.41 from the customers.  Gillis did this to cover up a nearly $400,000 loss he suffered while trading securities for his own benefit. 

Senior United States District Judge Norman A. Mordue also ordered Gillis to forfeit $379,562.41, and to pay $226,500 in restitution to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. 

This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyrus P.W. Rieck.