A pair of cunning fraudsters, Robert Ross Reinhart and Clarissa Rodriguez, have been convicted for a string of investment scams totalling a staggering $169,000 in losses for their victims, as per statements released by Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan. Their elaborate ploys, spun from 2007 to 2013, ensnared individuals with promises of savvy investment advice and profitable project planning—which never materialized.
In what reads like a tale straight out of a grifter's playbook, Reinhart and Rodriguez managed to not only deeply deceive, but to systematically plunder their victims' resources. "Tragically, as we see in many scam cases like this one, the victims were left having suffered highly personal losses including inheritance, an engagement ring and even theft of money from a bank account belonging to a 13-year-old girl," Ryan disclosed in a statement obtained by The Middlesex District Attorney's Office.
The Middlesex Superior Court jury found Reinhart guilty on multiple larceny charges and branded him a "common and notorious thief." He now faces up to ten years behind bars, followed by three years of probation, and is on the hook to pay back $169,000 in restitution to the victims. His criminal resume also includes attempting to tamper with a witness, adding extra time to his current sentence. Rodriguez, for her part, will serve four to five years in state prison.
Their scams were diverse and heartless—ranging from charging inventors $55,000 for nonexistent marketing services to duping a mother into refinancing her car and handing over her daughter's bank savings for their phony investments. Among their cruelest cons was exploiting the agony of a mother whose daughter went missing in 1977, compelling her to almost contribute to a fake investigation entity called "Missing Persons Bureau, Special Investigations Unit."
However, it was the sharp eye of a Wilmington bank manager that eventually led to the unraveling of Reinhart and Rodriguez's schemes. Their arrest in 2013 sparked an extensive probe, involving the Wilmington Police, Chelmsford Police, and the FBI, culminating in the indictments handed down nearly a decade later. Middlesex prosecutors Graham Van Epps, Michael Klunder, and former A.D.A. Doug Cannon, alongside victim witness advocate Lori Riccio, were commended for their dedicated efforts in the case.
