Man charged with tricking his fellow Greeks; Peabody people among victims of $500,000 scam By Jason Tait Staff Writer
PEABODY - A Greek investor is charged with bilking $500,000 from his countrymen, including people living in Peabody, and betting away the money in casinos.
Peter Tzamalas of Norwood targeted other Greeks in Massachusetts, some with little or no English skills, said Secretary of State William Galvin. Tzamalas, a native of Greece, "used his heritage and fluency in his native language to defraud many inventors from the Greek community in eastern Massachusetts," Galvin said in a statement. In some cases, the victims were defrauded of their life savings, Galvin said. He said the victims were from Peabody, Haverhill and Worcester. Father Makarios Niakaros, pastor of the Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church on Winter Street in Haverhill, said it is "shameful" for a Greek immigrant to prey on people with limited English skills. "This fellow here is a disgrace to our Greek culture," Niakaros said. "He should be ashamed." Niakaros said he knows no Haverhill people involved in the scam. He said he was warned about Tzamalas by Greeks in Lowell. "I think it's shameful," he said. "It's ethically wrong." Tzamalas disappeared last September, leaving at least 12 Massachusetts clients in "severe financial stress," Galvin said. The complaint by Galvin is civil and not criminal. Galvin aims to strip Tzamalas of his license, and levy an administrative fine. Brian McNiff, Galvin's spokesman, said the complaint has not yet been forwarded to the state Attorney General for possible criminal charges. Dimitrios "Jimmy" Argyriadis, owner of Bradford Seafood Restaurant in Haverhill, is deeply proud of his Greek homeland. He wants people to know Tzamalas is an anomaly. "We have one bad apple," Argyriadis said of the thousands of Greek immigrants living in Massachusetts. According to Galvin's office, Tzamalas was born in Greece in 1957 and came to the United States in 1991. Two years later he entered the financial services industry. He became a registered representative with ING Financial Partners, an investment firm, and between December 2004 and September 2006 he borrowed money from his clients, who totaled about 300 people. He told them the money would be re-invested in securities, according to Galvin's office. Instead, the money went into his personal bank account, Galvin's office said.
The state investigation showed Tzamalas spent about $400,000 of the money atFoxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos in Connecticut and casinos in Atlantic City. He also paid off about $100,000 on personal credit cards, the investigation shows. The state also wants to fine ING and have the company pay back the defrauded investors for failing to supervise Tzamalas properly. ING representatives did not return calls yesterday.
About the scam Investors tricked: State says registered investor Peter Tzamalas defrauded his customers of $500,000. The victims: Greek immigrants from Peabody, Haverhill and Worcester. The money trail: Tzamalas spent most of the money at casinos in Connecticut and New Jersey, the state says.
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