Amityville investment adviser pleads guilty in $160M fraud case

Plastic surgery, expensive jewelry, and pricey vacations.

Those were among the luxury purchases that Amityville financial adviser Vincent Camarda bankrolled with money invested by his clients, prosecutors say. He promised them that their money was safe, but it was anything but, court records show.

Camarda, 62, pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Central Islip to defrauding hundreds of clients out of $160 million — many of them elderly investors who lost their life savings.

Chairman and CEO of A.G. Morgan Financial Advisors, LLC, in Massapequa, Camarda pleaded guilty to securities fraud and investment adviser fraud before U.S. District Judge Nusrat Choudhury.

He faces up to 20 years in prison, restitution of at least $160 million and forfeiture of more than $6.6 million, federal prosecutors said.

A 30-year industry veteran and SEC-registered investment adviser, Camarda ran the scheme from January 2017 through December 2024, said Joseph Nocella, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Camarda created a series of investment funds under AGM, and then lied to clients about them, court records show.

“(Camarda) used a series of lies to lure clients, including elderly and other vulnerable
individuals, into investing with him, all while enriching himself,” Nocella said outside court. “Today’s guilty plea is an important step toward holding the defendant accountable for the substantial harm he has caused.”

Camarda, according to court documents, falsely told clients the funds were “safe” or “low-risk” and misrepresented how the money would be diversified.

Meanwhile, he funneled his clients’ money into a mining business and a food service business.

Camarda would collect undisclosed compensation from the mining business, serving as president of the food service business while being related to someone involved in its operations, prosecutors said.

Beyond the misrepresentations, Camarda also stole directly from clients, prosecutors detailed. He diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars via wire transfers and spent the money on himself — including plastic surgery, travel, jewelry and luxury items.

In one instance, a victim wired Camarda more than $700,000. Camarda invested roughly $370,000 of it in the high-risk mining operation and pocketed the remaining $400,000 for personal expenses, including his credit card bills.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. said Camarda “repeatedly deceived trusting clients to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars to finance extravagant purchases.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam R. Toporovsky is handling the prosecution.

A sentencing appearance for Camarda hasn’t been scheduled.

_{Top: Main photo by Sean Pollock, Vincent Camarda is pictured in the inset (LinkedIn).}