Lawyer: Former teacher from Roslyn seeks plea in Ponzi charge

Jason Nissen, the former math teacher from Roslyn accused of running a $70 million Ponzi scheme posing as a high-end ticket brokerage, pleaded not guilty Tuesday, but his lawyer said Nissen is trying to work out a plea deal.

Prosecutors filed a criminal complaint in June charging Nissen, 44, with the alleged scam. On Tuesday he agreed to let prosecutors go forward with more formal charges by way of a so-called information, instead of requiring them to obtain an indictment by a grand jury.

Although Nissen pleaded not guilty, defense lawyer Michael Bachner said the goal was to work toward a plea.

“It is Mr. Nissen’s intent to work out an amicable resolution, and we saw no reason to force the prosecutors to expend the time to go to a grand jury,” he said.

Nissen was charged with one count of wire fraud. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, but Bachner said the defense will be negotiating to try to make the likely sentence as short as possible.

Once fired by the New York City schools after being accused of reselling tickets to his students, Nissen is charged with ripping off investors in his National Event Co., which tried to acquire hard-to-get tickets for events like “Hamilton” and the Super Bowl and sell them at a profit.

He has been free on a $250,000 bond since he was charged.