Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the trial conviction of STEVEN CANADY, 45, for stealing nearly $7 million from multiple companies seeking to obtain loans and financing from the defendant’s investment firm, ALLIANCE WARBURG CAPITAL MANAGEMENT. The defendant and his company were convicted by a New York State Supreme Court jury of all the charges in the indictments against them, including Grand Larceny in the Second and Third Degrees, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Second and Third Degrees, Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, and Forgery in the Third Degree. On June 7, 2017, RUBY CANADY SUMMERS, 48, was also convicted following a bench trial in New York State Supreme Court of all the charges in the indictment against her, including Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Second Degree, and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree for her role and participation in the scheme. The defendants are expected to be sentenced on July 18, 2017.
“As this guilty verdict makes clear, my Office continues to be committed to ensuring the integrity of New York as a global financial capital and securing justice for victims of complex white-collar crimes,” said District Attorney Vance. “In this multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, there was nothing legitimate about the defendants’ business dealings, and every contract, letter, and bank account was used to commit fraud and steal from victims across the country, who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
As proven at trial, between May 2010 and June 2015, STEVEN CANADY stole nearly $7 million from multiple individuals and companies through a scheme involving his investment firm, ALLIANCE WARBURG CAPITAL MANAGEMENT. As part of the scheme, CANADY recruited the companies, which were seeking loans for various business ventures, by falsely promising to provide the sought-after funding after the companies paid a fee to the defendant, who described the deposit as pre-paid interest or a fully refundable due diligence fee. At times, the defendant showed victims forged bank documents purporting to show a balance of more than $500 million in his accounts. None of the companies, however, received the promised financing or refunds from the defendant and his firm, and instead, CANADY used the money to pay off earlier victims of the scheme, as well as fund his lavish personal lifestyle.
The defendant also stole $150,000 from one company by falsely claiming that the company would receive a significant return within a 30-day period by investing in one of CANADY’s business ventures. In some instances, the defendant created fake personas, fictitious business relationships, and forged bank documents to pressure his victims into sending payments.
The defendant’s sister, RUBY CANADY SUMMERS, also participated in the scheme by falsely representing herself as a supposed “lender” and—without disclosing her relationship to STEVEN CANADY—collecting money from the victims under the pretense of keeping the transactions open. At various times, the defendant also used forged bank statements showing a supposed balance of at least $1 billion in her account.
Assistant District Attorneys Adam Maltz and Michael Ohm, Deputy Chief of the Rackets Bureau, handled the prosecution of the case, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Judy Salwen, Principal Deputy Chief of the Rackets Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Jodie Kane, Chief of the Rackets Bureau, and Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael R. Sachs, Chief of the Investigation Division. Rackets Investigator Brian Conway, Supervising Rackets Investigators Donato Siciliano and Gregory Dunlavey, Principal Financial Investigator Michael Kelly, Trial Preparation Assistants Jessica Lempit and Rebecca Goldberg, and Investigative Analyst Jacob Diamond provided additional assistance with the case.
