Victims of Guilderland Ponzi scheme unhappy with financier's sentencing
"We've suffered immensely from this whole thing, it's horrible."
Rose Marie Shrader says she lost upwards of 600,000 dollars to Frederick Monroe.
"I'm 71-years-old and he's taken all my money. I don't have a lot of time left," Shrader said.
Monroe was a financial planner for 20 years and was operating his business out of Albany's Stuyvesant Plaza when prosecutors say he started swiping his client's money, promising returns on fake investments. Charged with money laundering, Monroe could have spent 30 years in prison, but he took a plea agreement.
Today Monroe's victims gave emotional statements, some hoping to convince the judge to reject the deal and throw the book at the defendant.
Then Monroe, addressed the courtroom.
"By the grace of god I want everyone to know how deeply sorry I'm for everything I've done," Monroe said.
Next, Monroe addressed the judge.
"What I did was wrong but I'm also asking for consideration in my sentence not for me, but for my family. They need me and I need them," Monroe said.
Nearly rejecting the plea deal, the judge settled on five to 16 years in prison for Monroe, who was 59 when he was arrested in June.
For Shrader, neither the sentence nor the apology is enough.
"He read from a written script that I'm sure attorneys helped him write. I don't believe it came from his heart."
------
ALBANY - The man involved in a million dollar Ponzi scheme was sentenced on Tuesday.
Frederick Monroe, Jr. was found guilty of asking investors
Frederick Monroe, Jr. took funds from more than a dozen victims who lost more than $5 million since 2002, according to investigators.
Monroe allegedly created false financial statements that he gave to clients when they inquired as to the status of their investments.
Investigators say Monroe diverted investor's money for his own personal use, including for hotels, airline tickets, mortgage payments and credit card payments, as well as transferring funds to his personal accounts in Monroe's name.
"When New Yorkers hire financial professionals to invest their hard-earned retirement savings, they deserve honest and transparent services," said Attorney General Schneiderman. "From the biggest financial institutions to individual investment brokers, my office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute complex financial crimes and securities fraud."
Monroe was sentenced to 5 1/3 to 16 years in prison.
