Former clients of a Syosset financial adviser whom a judge sentenced to prison Monday called him a “despicable” criminal for earning their trust before stealing their life savings in a $12 million Ponzi scheme.
Matthew Eckstein, 52, will go to prison for 3 and ½ to 10 ½ years after his guilty plea to felony charges of grand larceny and conspiracy in a scheme prosecutors have said took “a page from Bernie Madoff’s playbook” while scamming nearly 50 victims.
Nassau Supervising Judge Teresa Corrigan also signed a $6.8 million restitution order Monday.
She told Eckstein that “if there is a dime that comes your way,” a portion would go towards paying back the victims. Most of them are senior citizens, according to prosecutors.
The daughter of one of Eckstein’s victims read a letter in court from her mother, Diane Liguori, that described how Eckstein’s greed had cost her and her husband.
“Matthew stole our hard-earned money, but in fact, he robbed us and our family of so much more. Our sense of security and trust is gone. We now have sleepless nights of worry, instead of being able to enjoy these golden years of our lives,” the letter said.
The children of victims Donald and Gloria DeHayes wrote in a letter that prosecutor Betty Rodriguez read in court that Eckstein ignored them, lied to them and provided bogus account statements — ultimately stealing more than $500,000 from the family.
“He is a despicable thief, who not only stole the…
