Former CFO of New York Brokerage Firm Admits Stealing $1 Million from Former Employer

TRENTON, NJ—The former chief financial officer of the Manhattan-based brokerage firm Needham & Co. today admitted stealing $1 million from his former employer through an elaborate false invoicing scheme, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Glen W. Albanese, 42, of Manalapan, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with conspiring to steal $1 million from Needham & Co. Two of Albanese’s conspirators, Vincent Sarubbi, 43, of Manalapan, New Jersey, and Eric Siegel, 38, of New York, previously pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in the scheme.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From 2000 through 2010, while he was employed as the CFO of Needham & Co., a broker-dealer with headquarters in New York, Albanese stole $1 million from the company through a false invoicing scheme. Albanese induced several vendors of Needham—including Data Source Partners, an information technology services company owned by Sarubbi, and S&R Graphic Company, a printing company where Siegel worked—to submit fraudulent invoices to Needham. Some of the fraudulent invoices charged for services that were never provided, while others inflated the amount due for services that were provided. Albanese approved the fraudulent invoices on behalf of Needham and then directed the vendors to send him the bulk of the illicit proceeds.

The vendors funneled the illicit proceeds to Albanese in a variety of ways. Albanese admitted that he directed Siegel to meet him at predetermined locations in Manhattan with envelopes containing thousands of dollars in cash. He directed both Siegel and Sarubbi to pay his personal expenses directly. Siegel and Sarubbi used the proceeds from the scheme to pay for landscaping and interior decorating at Albanese’s residence; a designer-breed dog and “canine fence”; equestrian equipment; thousands of dollars’ worth of wine; and more than $40,000 in flights, hotels, and travel expenses.

The conspiracy count to which Albanese pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. As part of the plea, Albanese agreed to pay restitution of $1 million to Needham. Sentencing is scheduled for February 25, 2014.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Christopher J. Kelly, chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.stopfraud.gov.