Additional Information for National Realty Investment Advisors, LLC

On 06/07/2022, a plan for reorganization of the business was confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, under Chapter 11 of the federal Bankruptcy Act, case# 22-14539 JKS. This permits the business to continue to operate with court supervision until further notice. Those with monetary claims against the business are advised to obtain a Proof of Claim form by writing to United States Bankruptcy Court District of New Jersey Clerk's Office, MLK Jr Federal Building, 50 Walnut St. Newark NJ 07102 for resubmission to that court. The case number should be entered on the form.

Guilty Plea

The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below.

NEWARK, N.J. – Feb. 27, 2024 -  The shadow chief executive officer of National Realty Investment Advisors LLC (NRIA) today admitted orchestrating a scheme to defraud more than 2,000 investors in a $658 million Ponzi scheme and conspiring to evade millions of dollars in tax liabilities, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Thomas Nicholas Salzano, aka “Nicholas Salzano”, of Secaucus, NJ, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin in Newark federal court to securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Salzano admitted he made numerous misrepresentations to investors while he secretly ran NRIA behind the scenes. He also admitted to misappropriating millions of dollars from investors to enrich himself and his family and friends.

 As part of his plea agreement, Salzano has agreed to a prison term of eight to 12 years, a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $8.52 million, and a full restitution of $507.4 million to the victims of his offenses. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 6, 2024.

SEC Complaint

The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the governments allegations, which have not yet been proven.

On 06/07/2021 the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Thomas Nicholas Salzano, of Secaucus, New Jersey, with using a sham loan document containing a forged signature in a fraudulent attempt to entice a $150,000 investment in a real estate joint venture located in New Jersey.

According to the SEC's complaint, in January 2019, Salzano, an executive advisor and portfolio manager at National Realty Investment Advisors, LLC, a New Jersey-based private real estate management firm, sent the loan document to an investor to obtain an investment in a joint venture opportunity offered by the firm. The complaint alleges that Salzano provided the investor a term sheet for a loan that purportedly was being used to finance the real estate project in which the investor would invest. As alleged, the term sheet falsely stated that a third-party lender had committed to provide a $25 million loan for the project, and that the term sheet contained the forged signature of the lender's chief executive officer. Further, the complaint alleges that Salzano knowingly provided the false term sheet to the investor in an attempt to secure the investment.

The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court for the District of New Jersey, charges Salzano with violations of the antifraud provisions of Sections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933, and seeks injunctive relief, civil penalties, and an officer and director bar.

In response to the SEC allegations, the business provided the following statement in 2021:

"NRIA understands that there is a government investigation underway, arising from an isolated event that took place in 2019.  It involves a communication between an independent contractor and a single investor.  The isolated event was resolved two years ago, with no loss of investor capital—as has been the case with every NRIA investor since our inception in 2006. 

 Specifically, the government’s allegations against the independent consultant, Nicholas Salzano are, in sum, that he prematurely claimed that a particular project had already obtained lender commitment intent and that he sent the investor a signed letter of intent to that effect.  In fact, the project did ultimately have a Letter of Intent (LOI) , in file.

 A few points of clarification worth noting are:

•             The investor did not invest any money based on Mr. Salzano’s alleged actions.  She was a prior investor who, in keeping with NRIA’s perfect track record, subsequently recouped her entire investment. 

•             As soon as management at NRIA was alerted to the situation, we took swift action to address the matter and ensured that the investor was not harmed. Mr. Salzano was removed from independent investor communications at that time.

•             No NRIA investor has ever lost money since our inception.

•             There is no allegation that calls into question the soundness of the underlying investment, or any of our past, current or pending investments.

•             There is no allegation that any other potential investor has ever been misled, by Mr. Salzano or any other independent contractor, or employee; nor would we allow that to happen.

•             Like most major investment funds, we have opened our books and records to many government agencies over the years, including the IRS and SEC.  We have historically come out with our record intact. 

 The allegations, if true, represent an unacceptable departure from our commitment to transparent investor, and lender, relations.  We are reviewing our due diligence procedures and will ensure that no NRIA representative, independent or otherwise, will ever prioritize salesmanship over transparency again. 

Our company is complying with all government requests for documentation and will maintain its policy of complete transparency with our investors and financial institutions.  The independent contractor, whose alleged actions gave rise to the investigation, has been suspended pending the outcome of his matter."

Complaint

The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the governments allegations, which have not yet been proven.

Dec. 20, 2023 TRENTON – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced today that the New Jersey Bureau of Securities (“Bureau”) within the Division of Consumer Affairs (“Division”) has filed a civil enforcement action against the former vice-president of a New Jersey-based real estate investment firm that defrauded investors nationwide who had invested $630 million in that firm. 
 
According to a complaint filed in Superior Court in Essex County today, Ivel Turner, a former vice president of the now-defunct National Realty Investment Advisors, LLC (“NRIA”), fraudulently sold at least $2.35 million of unregistered securities issued by Oasis Realty Investment Group, LLC (“Oasis”), a Delaware-based firm he founded while still working for NRIA, and then misused investors’ funds for his personal benefit. 
 
While previously employed by the Secaucus-based NRIA, Turner allegedly aided in fraudulent conduct that resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in investor losses and led the Bureau to file a Summary Cease and Desist Order against the firm and several of its principals on June 21, 2022. Turner was not among those named in the Summary Order. NRIA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2022 and is no longer in operation.