FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 24, 2025
Brooklyn Financial Advisor Indicted for Allegedly Stealing
Approximately $1.24 Million from 10 Clients in Ponzi Scheme
Allegedly Promised High Returns on Business Investments,
Used Stolen Funds to Pay for Personal Expenses
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a licensed Brooklyn financial advisor has been arraigned on an indictment charging him with stealing close to $1.24 million from 10 people to whom he issued promissory notes with high rates of return.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant allegedly stole hundreds of thousands of dollars by persuading unsuspecting individuals to invest with false promises of high returns. Investors should be mindful that guaranteed high returns—especially without clear business details—are often a red flag. We will now seek to hold this defendant accountable and secure justice for those affected.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Marat Likhtenstein, 64, of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment in which he is charged with eight counts of second-degree grand larceny, two counts of third-degree grand larceny, two counts of first-degree scheme to defraud, and 10 counts of violating General Business Law Section 352-C (6). The defendant was released without bail and ordered to return to court on May 21, 2025.
The District Attorney said that, between November 2015 and March 2025, the defendant operated a fraudulent scheme using promissory notes to induce individuals to invest in purported business opportunities. He allegedly claimed he could not discuss the details of the business opportunities with the investors but promised to pay them 20 percent interest pursuant to the notes.
Furthermore, it is alleged, instead of investing the funds in business opportunities, the defendant used the money for personal expenses and to make partial payments to earlier victims of the Ponzi scheme.
At the time of the alleged scheme the defendant was a FINRA-licensed financial advisor and a New York State licensed insurance agent registered to sell securities and insurance products through Likhtenstein Financial Planning Inc. His office was located on Avenue V in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. The investigation began following a complaint to the District Attorney’s Action Center.
People who believe they have been victimized by this defendant are encouraged to contact the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Action Center at 718-250-2340 or to send an email to LikhtensteinComplaints@brooklynda.org.
Chief Financial Investigator Ludwig Sanchez and Financial Investigator Jose Carlos Covas, of the District Attorney’s Asset Forfeiture and Crimes Against Revenue Bureau, Intelligence Analyst Veranika Basak, of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division, and KCDA Detective Investigators all assisted in the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Michael Choi, Special Counsel for Complex Investigations, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, and Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Chief of the Investigations Division.
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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt