Investment Exec Pleads Guilty To Theft

A New Jersey man who stole nearly three-quarters of a million dollars from the New York investment firm where he served as controller has pleaded guilty to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in federal court in Manhattan.

Richard Tedeschi, 51, faces up to 20 years in prison for his seven-year embezzling spree that included, among other things, forging executives’ signatures on company checks, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. In all, the U.S. Attorney's office says, Tedeschi stole more than $734,000, over $633,000 of which was used to pay his personal American Express bills.

The U.S. Attorney's office did not cite the investment firm where Tedeschi worked, but a LinkedIn profile indicates he had worked for New York's Cain Brothers since 1996. Authorities said Tedeschi, of Morris Plains, N.J., used company checks and the company American Express account to pay his mortgage, telephone bills and other personal expenses. Tedeschi also boosted his own direct compensation by about $79,000.

"Richard Tedeschi abused his authority over his firm's finances, turning a position of oversight into something underhanded,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Preet Bahara said. “After years of using forgery and fraud to siphon $730,000 for his own benefit, Tedeschi's gravy train is at an end. We will continue to partner with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to pursue thieves, whatever the color of their collars."

Sentencing is scheduled for June 21 in the court of U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in Manhattan.