William Bucci, a former stockbroker from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to securities fraud and related charges for thieving around $3 million from investors for an import business that never existed and other ventures.

According to prosecutors, Bucci told investors that he would import high-end olive oil and wine from Italy. He further convinced his clientele to loan him money for a Jersey Shore home. Prosecutors said he used most of the money on personal expenses.

Bucci, who lived in Philadelphia but worked in the suburbs, paid back some early investors partially with money he received from later investors in classic Ponzi fashion. Currently, the exact amount of his fraud is unknown.

Bucci has posted bail and will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joel Slomsky on Novemeber 17, 2016.

Bucci’s plea memorandum states that he solicited brokerage clients, former schoolmates, friends, and relatives to provide him with cash from 2004 to 2011 with the promise that he would repay them as much as ten percent annual interest and would return the principal in a few years.

According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, Bucci worked at firms in King of Prussia, PA.; Jenkintown, PA; Conshohocken, PA; New York; NY; and Baltimore, MD. He was registered with FINRA from November 1983 through May 2012. FINRA has permanently barred Bucci from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities to the public.

If you or someone you know has lost money as a result of an investment or Ponzi scheme, please contact Richard Frankowski at 888-741-7503 to discuss your potential legal remedies or complete the contact form.