Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. today announced the indictment of ALAN BURAK, 40, for allegedly operating an investment fraud scheme that recruited dozens of people to invest with his fraudulent firm, Never Alone Capital, LLC, and stealing over $4 million of their investments for his personal use between April 2018 and May 2023.
BURAK is charged in a 26-count New York State Supreme Court indictment with one count of Grand Larceny in the First Degree, four counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, five counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, and two counts of Securities Fraud under the Martin Act, among other charges. [1]
“As alleged, Alan Burak targeted those who would put their faith in him and entrust him with their savings: friends and family in Mexico, and members of the Latino community who came to him for financial advice,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Those who take advantage of others to steal their hard-earned money will be held accountable. This is an ongoing investigation. Please call our Financial Frauds Bureau at 212-335-8900 if you are a victim.”
According to court documents and statements made on the record, BURAK first recruited investors among family and friends who live in Mexico. He later presented as a speaker for an organization which provides financial education to the Latino community and solicited investments from the students, who only had modest funds to invest but trusted his expertise as their instructor.
BURAK falsely claimed that NAC had been operating since 2006 and had been profitable each year. He also claimed to have $157 million in assets under management, when the total amount he received from investors was approximately $5 million. Additionally, BURAK lied to investors saying that he had securities licenses, and guaranteed high rates of return. In one instance, he promised a 50% return on investment in just three months.
BURAK sent investors fraudulent weekly or monthly “Account and Activity Statements” that showed their investments were consistently growing. These Account and Activity Statements convinced some investors to continue sending additional money to NAC.
As part of the scheme, BURAK also falsified documents, including one purporting to be from a brokerage firm stating that NAC had over $197 million in assets in an account. The monthly balance in NAC’s brokerage account was never more than $27,500.
Investors sent more than $4 million to NAC’s operating account in the United States, including more than $2 million from one investor alone. However, BURAK sent only $266,285 from that operating account to brokerage houses. He sent more than $5 million that he received from investors, as well as from business loans and cash advances he took against the business, to his personal savings account for personal expenses.
By 2023, BURAK stopped allowing investors to withdraw funds, even though they had received Account and Activity Statements reflecting that they had funds available to cash out. Despite their repeated requests, BURAK did not pay investors the money they were due. In certain cases, he offered payment plans or provided investors with pictures of postdated checks that bounced.
Assistant D.A.s Michael Luongo, Elyssa Abuhoff and Anne Ternes are handling the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Hope Korenstein (Deputy Chief of the Financial Frauds Unit), Kelly Thomas (Deputy Chief of the Financial Frauds Unit), Kofi Sansculotte (Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau), Christine Payne (Deputy Chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau), Michael Ohm (Chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau), and Executive Assistant District Attorney Jodie Kane (Chief of the Investigation Division).
Rackets Investigator Luis Chuquiralao, Senior Rackets Investigator Frank Toro, and Supervising Rackets Investigators Max Adler and Brian Conway; Investigative Analysts Katharine Hartmann, Serena Lu and Jaden Jarmel-Schneider; Financial Frauds Paralegal Varun Gaitonde, Major Economic Crimes Bureau Paralegals Kaitlyn Saldanha, Caroline Sturgeon and Nicole Toney; Senior Computer Forensic Analyst Borislav Vestfrid, Privilege Review Data Specialist Olivia Savell and Assistant District Attorney John Cheever provided valuable assistance with the investigation.
Senior Financial Investigator Jesse Mihalik also provided assistance in the investigation under the supervision of Irene Serrapica, Principal Deputy Bureau Chief of the Forensic Accounting and Financial Investigations Unit, and Robert Demarest, Chief of the Forensic Accounting and Financial Investigations Unit. The Language Services Unit also assisted in the investigation.
D.A. Bragg thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, Morgan Stanley, and Interactive Brokers for their assistance with the investigation.
D.A. Bragg also thanked the U.S. Marshals Service, particularly Senior Deputy U.S. Marshal Sandy Rao from the NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force and Deputy U.S. Marshal Alexis Ochoa.
Defendant Information:
ALAN BURAK
New York, NY
Charged:
- Grand Larceny in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
- Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, four counts
- Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony, five counts
- Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a class D felony, two counts
- Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count
- Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count
- Securities Fraud, a class E felony, one count
- Securities Fraud, a class E felony, one count
- Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, ten counts
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[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.
