Long Island real estate manager pleads guilty in $96M scheme

Long Island real estate manager Adam Manson pleaded guilty in a $96 million Ponzi scheme Monday, and will be sentenced to up to five years in prison as part of a plea deal.

Manson, a co-owner of Montauk-based Panoramic View Resort & Residences, was accused of siphoning money from investors in order to keep the resort afloat, Newsday reported. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud at federal court in Central Islip, and agreed to forfeit all of the unsold units at the resort as part of a plea agreement. The unsold properties are valued at more than $60 million, according to Newsday.

Prosecutors accused Manson and brother-in-law Brian Callahan, an investment advisor, of siphoning money from investors in order to keep the resort afloat. Callahan pleaded guilty to securities and wire fraud last month, and could face up to 24 years and three months in prison. He also forfeited $67.4 million to make recitation to fraud victims.

“Through lies and deceit … [Callahan] misled investors and stole investor funds … to support a lavish lifestyle and operate a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme,” Loretta Lynch, Eastern District U.S. attorney, said in an April statement. [Newsday] — Julie Strickland