Earlier today, a federal jury in Central Islip found twin brothers Adam and Daniel Kaplan guilty of wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, investment advisor fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. Adam Kaplan was also convicted of additional charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank and wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering, and attempted obstruction of justice while on pre-trial release. The verdict followed an eight-week trial before United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack.
The announcement was made by Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge at the FBI’s New York Field Office.
“With today’s verdict, Adam and Daniel Kaplan stand convicted of stealing millions of dollars from clients, some of whom were elderly and disabled, who trusted the defendants to invest their money, but instead were betrayed by these ruthless thieves,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Adam Kaplan is facing additional, very serious consequences for seeking to undermine the criminal justice process by attempting to threaten victims and witnesses and bribe Department of Justice officials. I commend the prosecutors from our Office and the FBI Special Agents who worked tirelessly to unravel the defendants’ fraudulent schemes and bring them to justice for the harm their greed has caused.”
Nocella also expressed gratitude to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Chicago Regional Office and IRS Criminal Investigation for their contributions.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia commented: “Adam and Daniel Kaplan demonstrated a pattern of deceit to steal millions of dollars from trusting investors, while the former threatened victims in an attempt to obstruct the federal investigation into the brothers’ misconduct. These defendants exploited the trust, vulnerability, and, at times, health of more than 100 victims to selfishly enrich themselves. May today’s conviction reflect the FBI’s continued promise to hold accountable those who target the wallets of others out of personal greed.”
Evidence presented at trial showed that between May 2018 and July 2021, Adam and Daniel Kaplan served as investment advisors at IHT Wealth Management for hundreds of clients. They used their roles to misappropriate at least $10 million from clients’ accounts for personal expenses and luxury purchases.
According to court documents and testimony, one scheme involved sending clients contracts with blank fee percentages after promising low fees; once signed by clients based on trust in verbal promises, higher fees—sometimes quadruple what was promised—were inserted without client knowledge. The Kaplans also withdrew funds directly from client bank accounts without authorization or approval. To conceal these actions, they transferred equivalent amounts from brokerage accounts back into victim bank accounts so balances appeared unchanged.
The Kaplans further hid their activities by lying about unauthorized charges to clients; forging signatures on documents; fabricating contracts for services never rendered such as “life coaching” or “divorce consultation”; and deceiving financial institutions during investigations.
Victims included elderly individuals—including a woman caring for her dying husband whose name was used for fraudulent loans—and family members such as a 100-year-old grandmother whose checks were altered after being sent under false pretenses.
After being dismissed by IHT Wealth Management in July 2021 when their conduct came to light, Adam and Daniel Kaplan continued targeting new victims. Among them was a woman with dementia whom Adam Kaplan befriended; he escorted her to a Manhattan bank where she signed documents enabling him access to more funds.
Between 2023-2024 Adam Kaplan engaged in further schemes with a co-conspirator—stealing hundreds of thousands more from prior victims under false investment promises—and attempted repayment using his parents’ credit cards before disputing those charges so banks absorbed losses.
In addition to financial crimes, between April 2023-September 2024 Adam Kaplan tried obstructing justice by paying over $75,000 through a co-conspirator (whom he believed had violent criminal connections) to intimidate or injure witnesses; destroy evidence; send threatening messages; order acts against victims’ property; attempt blackmail against a prosecutor; and direct attempts at bribing Department of Justice officials while on multimillion-dollar bond release—though no bribes were ultimately paid.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Toporovsky, Paul Scotti, Rebecca Urquiola (with support staff), under E.D.N.Y Docket No. 23-CR-293 (S-1) (JMA).
Adam S. Kaplan (36) and Daniel E. Kaplan (36), both residents of Great Neck on Long Island now await sentencing following conviction on all counts.
