May 17, 2024 - 23:51
By cnbc.com

New York crypto personality used 'Seinfeld' joke in fraud, feds reveal

A New York man swindled more than $1.3 million from friends, neighbors and investors by, among other things, getting them to invest in bogus real estate projects involving a company named after a joke in the classic TV comedy "Seinfeld," and a fictitious cryptocurrency, federal prosecutors said.
Thomas John Sfraga "held himself out as the owner and principal of multiple businesses, including Vandelay Contracting Corp. and Build Strong Homes LLC," the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office said.
"In the television show 'Seinfeld,' the character George [Costanza] falsely claimed to have interviewed for a job with the fictional company Vandelay Industries," prosecutors noted.
Sfraga, who assumed the crypto personality of "T.J. Stone," pitched himself as a serial entrepreneur with experience in real estate development, media relations, podcasting and cryptocurrencies, prosecutors said.

Yada, yada, yada, this cryptocurrency crook isn't laughing now.

A New York man swindled more than $1.3 million from friends, neighbors and investors by among other things getting them to invest in bogus real estate projects involving a company named after a joke in the classic TV comedy "Seinfeld," and a fictitious cryptocurrency, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Thomas John Sfraga, 55, from 2019 through 2022 "held himself out as the owner and principal of multiple businesses, including Vandelay Contracting Corp. and Build Strong Homes LLC," the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.