TRENTON – A former Belmar man was sentenced August 26 to more than 12 years in federal prison for running a decades-long investment fraud that cost more than 60 victims over $6 million, federal prosecutors announced.
Vincent Dispoto Jr., 68, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi handed down a 151-month prison term, three years of supervised release, and ordered Dispoto to pay $6,083,419 in restitution. The court also imposed a forfeiture money judgment of nearly $7 million.
Prosecutors said Dispoto operated Giddeon Financial Services, where since the late 1980s he misled investors—many of them elderly—by promising low-risk returns through municipal bonds, certificates of deposit and other products. Instead, he issued fake account statements, diverted funds for gambling and personal expenses, and used new investor money to pay existing clients in a Ponzi-like scheme.
The fraud unraveled after years of false assurances that investments were growing. Authorities said the deception left victims with millions in losses and devastated retirement savings.
The FBI’s Newark field office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kozar of the Economic Crimes Unit prosecuted. Dispoto was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defenders Areeb Salim and John Yauch of Newark.
