JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
A 54-year-old man who conned at least 17 people, including a 17-year-old high school student who saved money from babysitting, plead guilty to fraud by lying to the victims, saying he had connections to entertainment lawyers in New York City, officials said.
U.S. District Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger sentenced Mark Steven Szekely, Ponte Vedra, to nine years in federal prison for wire fraud.
The judge determined that Szekely swindled the victims out of $454,972 and order him to pay the same amount as restitution to his victims, authorities said.
According to the evidence, here are the facts and circumstances surrounding this case:
- Szekely conducted a scheme to defraud others and swindled at least 17 individuals out of $454,972.65.
- Among the victims were his friends, members of his church, his children’s teachers, and a 17-year-old high school student who had saved money from babysitting.
- As part of his scheme, Szekely represented that he was an accomplished author with connections to entertainment lawyers in New York City that could assist the victims with copyrighting, publishing, and/or producing their works into Broadway plays or films.
- In reality, Szekely had no such connections, and instead, fraudulently created a list of fictitious lawyers and other professionals.
- In addition, several of the victims were defrauded into investing in “annuities” tied to a book Szekely had written and was allegedly being produced into a movie.
- Court testimony established that Szekely had not worked for approximately 12 years and had supported himself and his family with the proceeds of his fraud.
This case was investigated by the FBI.