Southampton woman admits to $1.5M fraud targeting elderly

A Southampton woman pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges alleging she stole more than $1.5 million through a fraud scheme that targeted the elderly, authorities said.

Mara Ficarra, 57, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert in federal court in Central Islip, according to federal prosecutors. Ficarra faces up to five years in prison and the restitution of the stolen proceeds when sentenced.

Ficarra’s defense attorney, Kevin Keating of Garden City, declined to comment which reached Thursday afternoon. 

Ficarra was indicted in 2018 in connection with the scheme that prosecutors said fleeced hundreds of elderly people, alongside her husband John Ficarra, then 53. Seybert dismissed the indictment against John Ficarra in 2021 after he died, according to court records.

Mara Ficarra, who co-owned, operated and held various senior management positions in various companies including Remington Biographies Inc., which were purported to publish biographical information under the titles “Inspiring the Youth of America” and “The Remington Registry of Outstanding Professionals,” targeted elderly people with letters and pamphlets indicating their biographies would be published in one of the publications, federal prosecutors said.

The letters, which were mailed from 2013 to December 2018, were addressed to “Dear Nominee,” and instructed recipients to send a check for $14 for shipping and handling for two books and a plaque.

The pamphlet read, according to prosecutors: “The Remington Registry of Outstanding Professionals is more than a who’s who. It is the ultimate expression of achievements, hardships, and dedication that professionals have made in their lives and careers. … Sit back and be read  for a wonderful experience.”

Ficarra, prosecutors said, then used the routing and bank account information on the checks to produce fraudulent checks for larger dollar amounts, which she then deposited into bank accounts she and a co-conspirator controlled at financial institutions including Citibank, EverBank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. She then withdrew the stolen cash, prosecutors said.

“Ficarra enriched herself by preying upon vulnerable elderly members of our community in an elaborate solicitation to immortalize the victims through inclusion of their biographies in reference publications she controlled, when in fact it was a scheme designed to steal their hard-earned savings,” Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “With today’s guilty plea, Ficarra has ensured that her own legacy is that of a convicted fraudster. This Office is committed to protecting the elderly from financial fraud and ending elder abuse in all its pernicious forms.”

Daniel B. Brubaker, inspector-in-charge of the New York division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, said in a statement: “Mara Ficarra took advantage of the elderly, leading them to believe their legacies would be preserved in The Remington Registry of Outstanding Professionals. What she did instead was prey on innocent victims and continue to drain their bank accounts of over $1.5 million. Postal Inspectors will tirelessly pursue anyone who targets the elderly for fraud. Today’s guilty plea is proof of the commitment of Postal Inspectors and our partners in the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring these scammers to justice.”

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.