Southampton investment adviser sentenced for defrauding couple out of more than $1M

A Southampton investment adviser was sentenced in Central Islip federal court Thursday to six years in prison for defrauding a California couple out of more than $1 million.

In addition to serving prison time, Jeffrey Slothower, 47, must pay more than $1.1 million in restitution and in forfeiture for misappropriating clients’ funds, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella, Jr. announced in a news release Thursday.

The sentence "sends a message to all those that would use their positions as financial professionals to line their own pockets," Nocella said in a statement.

"Jeffrey Slothower used his position as an investment adviser to steal over a million dollars from an unsuspecting couple," Nocella added.

Evan Sugar, the defense attorney who represented Slothower, declined to comment when reached by phone Thursday evening.

Throughout his trial, prosecutors established that Slothower solicited business from a California couple whose investments he managed before operating his own New York investment advisory firm, Battery Private.

In 2017, he offered to invest one of the couple’s funds in "bonds backed by homeowner’s association fees ... which would pay an eight percent return," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. When the victim provided Slothower with $500,000, he instead pocketed the funds to "to purchase a $125,000 Mercedes-Benz SUV, and membership dues at Long Island National Golf Club" in Aquebogue, the release said. Slothower then paid the victim what he "falsely represented as quarterly distributions" from the investment.

Later that year, Slothower took another $500,000 from the victim’s spouse for the same investment bonds, according to Nocella's office. Slothower then paid off tens of thousands of dollars worth of his own credit card debt and made several luxury purchases, including a $6,500 Chanel purse, $11,000 worth of Ralph Lauren clothing and a $13,000 Rolex. Slothower similarly issued phoney investment returns payments to the second victim.

In 2018, Slothower took additional funds from the first victim — about $84,000 — to continue providing them with fraudulent returns on their investments, as well as pay membership dues to the Aquebogue golf club, according to Nocella.

While defrauding the couple, Slothower also engaged in mortgage fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. During an effort to refinance a home mortgage, Slothower misrepresented the funds he obtained from his victims as proceeds from selling fine art, stamp and wine collections. While under oath at his trial, Slothower lied "when he denied classifying the victims’ funds as the proceeds of an asset sale," the news release said.

A jury in Central Islip convicted Slothower of wire fraud, investment adviser fraud and money laundering on May 16, 2024. U.S. District Judge Gary R. Brown sentenced Slothower on Thursday to 72 months in prison and ordered him to pay $1,160,936 in restitution and in forfeiture, according to the release.