CONCORD, N.H. – New Hampshire prosecutors say a Dover man pocketed nearly $300,000 investors gave him to buy and rehabilitate distressed properties.
Nicholas Skaltsis of Dover was charged Thursday with 19 counts of felony theft for operating what prosecutors say was a fraudulent investment scheme. He was arraigned in Rochester Circuit Court and applied for a public defender.
Skaltsis was arrested at the New Hampshire State Hospital, where he is a patient. Senior Assistant Attorney General James Boffetti told the judge that Skaltsis poses a danger to himself and attempted suicide sometime after the state Bureau of Securities Regulation started its own investigation last August.
The judge set bail at $300,000, effective upon Skaltsis’ release from the hospital.
Boffetti said Skaltsis was arrested at the hospital and returned there by law enforcement officials after his arraignment.
Boffetti said that Skaltsis operates Liberty Realty Trust and Phoenix Asset Group. He said Skaltsis solicited a number of people in the Dover area to invest in distressed properties, promising to return the funds with as much as 14 percent interest.
Prosecutors say he bought no properties and failed to repay investors $287,000.
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