Greenwich man pleads guilty in investment fraud

GREENWICH — A Greenwich man is facing up to 30 years behind bars after pleading guilty Monday in federal court in New Haven to offenses related to an investment fraud scheme.

Leonid Pollak, 58, also known as “Lenny,” owned a Norwalk-based company that organized trade shows and expositions throughout the country, said John H. Durham, U.S. attorney for Connecticut.

In mid-2013, Pollak persuaded an acquaintance to invest money in a new business venture that was supposed to organize similar expositions in Ukraine, Durham said.

But instead of using the money to build the new business, Pollak spent as much as $250,000 on unrelated business and personal expenses, including his home mortgage loan, groceries and clothing, automobiles and private school tuition, Durham said.

Pollak pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, and one count of illegal monetary transaction, which carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.

He was arrested Sept. 20. Pollak was released on $200,000 bond, pending sentencing. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall on June 10.

This matter was investigated by the FBI and the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS, with the assistance of the U.S. Secret Service and Greenwich Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher W. Schmeisser and Pilar Gonzalez.