Problems grow for Roglieri, company
Financier faces new allegations after adjournment in weapons case follows investigation by FBI
QUEENSBURY — Kris Roglieri, the Albany loan broker accused of perpetuating a $90 million scheme to defraud clients, was scheduled to be in Queensbury Town Court on Monday to face state weapons charges but the case was adjourned until May 13.
The weapons charges are among the many problems the Albany financier must confront, including an apparent criminal probe by the FBI into his loan operations and, now, allegations by a one-time client accusing him of wire fraud and criminal racketeering.
The latest issue for Roglieri is a socalled adversary proceeding filed against him and his business entities on April 3 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Albany where he is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The adversary complaint was filed on behalf of a company called 1800 Park Avenue LLC that was seeking $100 million in financing last year to build an egg farm in Minnesota. The company’s principal owners were introduced to Roglieri’s company through a loan broker in late 2023.
The developer did not know that Roglieri and his firm, Prime Capital Ventures, were already embroiled in numerous civil fraud lawsuits at the time nor that his business was on the verge of being forced into involuntary bankruptcy.
To secure the loan, 1800 Park Avenue and its two principals, Jeffrey Huston and Gabriel Olsen, wired a $5 million cash deposit to Roglieri on Dec. 22, 2023, three days after Prime Capital Ventures was forced into bankruptcy. The loan was never made and the deposit was never returned — a story similar to those told in about a dozen other civil fraud lawsuits filed against Roglieri and his Prime Capital Ventures.
The lawsuit also names other Roglieri business associates, such as Kimberly “Kimmy” Humphrey, who lives in Virginia Beach, Va., as well as two Rochester-area associates, Erik Martin and Scott Diberardinis.
“Defendants were associated with and comprised an enterprise that engaged in acts and activities that affect interstate commerce, including wire fraud that adversely affected plaintiff’s activities, which was engaged in interstate commerce through the development of the (Minnesota) egg production facility,” the adversary complaint states.
Joseph Barsalona II, Roglieri’s New York City bankruptcy attorney, did not respond to a request for comment. Barsalona is also representing Humphrey and Roglieri’s other business associates named in the adversary case.
Although Roglieri is facing the weapons charges in town court in Queensbury, he has not been charged with any crime related to the apparent federal probe into his business practices. Neither have Humphrey or the two others. Roglieri has asserted his innocence, with his civil attorney suggesting that Roglieri was himself the victim of fraud by others.
Albany attorney Stacy Mix, who is representing Roglieri in the weapons case in Queensbury, was not immediately available for comment.
During a February raid by the FBI at his Queensbury home that appears to be connected to an ongoing criminal probe, authorities found an Ar-15-style rifle and a high-capacity magazine. He was subsequently charged with two felony weapons counts by the Warren County Sheriff ’s Office.
Authorities also seized a dozen luxury cars, artwork and watches during the February raid and a raid in March to seize additional cars.
The 44-year-old businessman filed for bankruptcy as a small business owner earlier this year after about a dozen former clients filed lawsuits that accuse him of stealing millions of dollars in cash deposits that were supposed to secure large business loans. In bankruptcy documents, Roglieri revealed he owns a large gun collection in addition to his luxury watch and car collections.
Over the past year, Roglieri and Prime Capital have been named in several lawsuits alleging he and his firm pocketed tens of millions of dollars in cash deposits intended to secure the lines of credit.
The lawsuits allege that Roglieri never extended the lines of credit but kept the cash deposits, totaling upwards of $90 million. A courtappointed receiver authorized to wind down the company’s operations has alleged Roglieri was operating a Ponzi scheme by which he would also use deposits from one customer to pay others their deposits or portions of their promised loans.
Roglieri has maintained his innocence. He faces no charges in the financial probe. The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office in Albany have declined comment.