Albertson man gets 5-year prison sentence in $2 million fraud scheme

An Albertson man was sentenced to 5 years in prison Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan for a $2 million investment fraud scheme that lured victims with promises of a guaranteed rate of return.

Prosecutors said that Nizar Othman, 31, ripped off the money from a family that had taken him in and hired him to handle billing at their Long Island mental health counseling company, and other friends and associates he developed a bond of "personal trust" with.

Othman, who grew up in Plainview and Syosset and was described by his lawyer as a standout lacrosse and football player in high school and college, was allegedly at JFK Airport with a ticket to Israel and the FBI closing in when he was arrested.

Othman's lawyer asked for 15 months of incarceration and federal sentencing guidelines called for 41 to 51 months, but U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield went above the guideline range and also ordered him to repay $2.13 million.

His lawyer did not return a call for comment on the sentence.