Used the Money to Pay for a Lavish Lifestyle
A former investment broker from Glen Cove pleaded guilty today to running a $1 million Ponzi
scheme that targeted the man’s friends and neighbors.
Rand Heckler, 67, pleaded guilty before Judge Terence Murphy to one count of second-degree
grand larceny (a C felony) and scheme to defraud in the first degree (an E felony).
Beginning in 2015, Heckler recommended to his friend and his friend’s son that they invest in a
hedge fund of stocks and securities that he was managing. The offer was only to be for Heckler’s
closest 15 to 20 friends and associates.
Between December 2015 and January 2020, the victims wrote Heckler 24 checks, totaling
$755,159. During that time, he showed them statements with the names of the stocks and the
hedge fund account’s current value. Heckler also showed them false trade confirmations as proof
that the stocks had been purchased.
In January 2020, the friend’s son, who has power of attorney for his father, asked Heckler for
$100,000 from his father’s account, part of which was for his children’s trust fund. In February
2020, after several weeks of delay, he received the $100,000 via a wire to his bank account and
was told the money was from the sale of stock.
However, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office discovered in May 2020, after receiving
the case from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), that the money was wired
directly from another victim in February that same year. That victim, the defendant’s neighbor,
went to the bank with the defendant in February 2020, believing she was wiring a $100,000 life
insurance payment from her deceased husband into the hedge fund, when, in fact, she was wiring
the money directly to the first victim’s son.
As this was going on, Heckler’s neighbor believed she would receive monthly dividend
payments from her investment and did not know there was a problem until NCDA investigators
contacted her.
During the investigation, at least two other victims were discovered to have been defrauded by
Heckler in a similar manner. He solicited additional victims by cold-calling people in other states
and getting them to agree to invest.
Heckler spent the money on his mortgage, a country club membership, credit card payments and
daily expenses such as dry cleaning and phone bills. In total, he stole $1,004,159 from four
victims.
He is due back in court on July 20, 2023, and is expected to be sentenced to up to 2-1/2 to 7-1/2
years in prison, forfeit $48,000 that was seized from his bank account, and receive a civil
judgment order for the restitution balance.
“Rand Heckler roped friends, neighbors and even strangers he cold-called into a Ponzi scheme
that drained them of more than $1 million,” said Nassau County DA Anne Donnelly. “The
defendant used the stolen cash to finance a luxurious lifestyle that included a country club
membership and other expenses. Investment brokers are trusted to make smart financial
decisions for their clients, but this defendant’s conduct shows he was only in business for
himself.”