The federal suit sheds new light on an expanding investment debacle affecting 70 or more clients in four states. They'd invested as much as $30 million with Collegeville accountant Joseph Pezzano.
Fourteen investors, many of whom are retired Peco employees or their relatives, have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Pezzano scammed them out of $18.5 million in savings and inheritances, leaving some “without the necessary money that they need to survive.” Paula Pezzano, who is the executor of Joseph Pezzano’s estate and its sole heir, is “believed to be in possession of the Investor-Plaintiffs’ funds and/or assets purchased with their funds and to have been unjustly enriched by the fraud schemes of her late husband,” the complaint contends.
Lawyers for late Collegeville accountant can’t find where he invested millions for dozens of trusting clients “Ocean, boardwalk and pool front condo with incredible direct panoramic ocean views!” the site states.It is unclear what funds were used to purchase those and other New Jersey properties owned by the Pezzanos. Some of the deed transfers were notarized by Michele Gibson, the office manager at Pezzano’s accounting firm, who is also named in the federal lawsuit.