By Stephen Appezzato
MONMOUTH BEACH – In a major development in a lengthy legal battle, a Monmouth County man was convicted this month on five counts of tax evasion for his involvement in a $39 million investment fraud scheme, law enforcement officials said.
Joseph Cammarata, 49, of Monmouth Beach, was found guilty in federal court in Trenton after a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan. Last year Cammarata was convicted in Pennsylvania for mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, among other charges, receiving a 10-year prison sentence.
According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, Cammarata defrauded investors out of “millions of dollars.”
“Now, a Trenton jury has convicted him of hiding from the IRS more than $16 million he pocketed as he tried to avoid paying his fair share of taxes,” Sellinger continued.
According to trial evidence, Cammarata and co-conspirators Erik Cohen and David Punturieri led a claims aggregator firm based in Old Bridge, Alpha Plus Recovery (APR).
A claims aggregator firm submits claims on behalf of clients to organizations that distribute settlement funds to investors who were financially harmed.
Beginning in 2014, the three used APR to “make false and fraudulent claims on the proceeds of securities fraud class action settlements and SEC enforcement actions,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote in a release.
Cammarata, Cohen and Punturieri fraudulently claimed that “corporate clients” of APR bought shares of securities that were the subject of these class action settlements and SEC enforcement actions. However, the corporate clients of APR were merely a ploy – entities controlled by the three, and the securities were not actually purchased.
Cammarata and his co-conspirators created “fraudulent brokerage and other financial documents” which were provided to claims administrators on behalf of their companies.
Fraudulent funds were then received and transferred into personal accounts: The defendants were not entitled to any financial recovery from the settlements of enforcement actions tied to the securities.
From 2015-2019 the three stole more than $39 million. Cammarata alone received more than $18 million. Cammarata hid this income, which came through corporate entities, from his accountant and the IRS. This money was used to purchase expensive cars, homes, travel and even a private a private island in the Bahamas – Sandy Cay – among other expenses, according to federal officials.
According to U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero, the verdict in Cammarata’s Trenton-based case “makes clear that those who hide income gained by fraud will face the same consequences as those who try to evade their tax obligations from legal sources of income.”
Cammarata was first indicted in 2021. After his initial indictment, officials revealed the FBI, IRS and even the U.S. Postal Service (because Cammarata engaged in mail fraud) were slowly building a case against the Monmouth Beach resident for years.
Each of the five counts of tax evasion he received this month is punishable by up to five years in prison. Cammarata’s sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
The article originally appeared in the November 30 – December 6, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
