FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, Feb 25, 2026
Brooklyn Financial Advisor Indicted for Allegedly Stealing
Approximately $852,000 from Five Clients in Ponzi Scheme
Allegedly Promised High Returns on Business Investments,
Used Stolen Funds to Pay for Personal Expenses, and to Make Payments to Other Victims
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a licensed Brooklyn financial advisor has been arraigned on an indictment charging him with stealing approximately $852,000 from five people to whom he issued promissory notes with high rates of return.
The defendant was charged in a separate indictment in March 2025 with stealing approximately $1.24 million from 10 victims in a similar scheme, issuing them promissory notes promising high rates of return. That case is still pending.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This indictment alleges that the defendant carried out a classic Ponzi scheme, exploiting his professional credentials and client relationships to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars. As charged, he issued promissory notes promising extraordinary returns, diverted investor funds for personal expenses, and used money from new victims to make payments to earlier ones. This alleged conduct reflects a calculated abuse of trust that we will prosecute vigorously. My office remains committed to holding accountable those who engage in financial fraud.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Marat Likhtenstein, 65, of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on a 10-count indictment in which he is charged with three counts of second-degree grand larceny, two counts of third-degree grand larceny, and five counts of violating General Business Law Section 352-C (6). The defendant was released without bail and ordered to return to court on April 22, 2026.
The District Attorney said that, between October 28, 2022 and February 5, 2026, the defendant allegedly 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 various rates of return including as high as 30 percent interest pursuant to the notes.
Specifically, the District Attorney said, the defendant is accused of stealing $378,500 from a 46-year-old man, $325,000 from a 69-year-old man, $79,000 from a different 46-year-old man, $37,100 from a 68-year-old woman, and $32,400 from a 68-year-old man. All of the victims are from Brooklyn.
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 Senior Investigative Assistant District Attorney Daniel Tibbets, of the Investigations Division, 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.