Overview:
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the conviction and sentencing of Marc Henry Menard, formerly of Mineola, New York, for a three-year investment fraud scheme that stole more than $600,000 from Haitian investors in New York, Florida and Georgia. Menard was sentenced to five years' probation, banned from the securities industry, and ordered to repay victims $385,271.
NEW YORK — Marc Henry Menard, a Florida man accused of defrauding Haitian investors out of more than $600,000, has been convicted and sentenced to five years’ probation, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced July 30.
Menard, formerly of Mineola, New York, pleaded guilty in April in Nassau County Supreme Court to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, and Securities Fraud. In addition to probation, he was banned from the securities industry for five years. He also admitted owing investors $385,271, and judgments were entered in their favor.
“Marc Henry Menard lied to hard-working New Yorkers and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat himself to lavish trips and luxury purchases,” James said in a statement. “Thank you to my partners in law enforcement for helping to end this fraud and bring Menard to justice.”
The case stems from a three-year scheme Menard ran through his company, Marcotech LLC, beginning in July 2020, in which he solicited Haitian investors across Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland and Queens counties, as well as Florida and Georgia, with promises of monthly returns between 12 and 20 percent. Investors who recruited others were promised even higher returns, according to the attorney general’s office.
Instead of trading on investors’ behalf as promised, prosecutors said Menard funneled the money into his own personal trading account, where high-risk day trading and options trading produced losses of more than $670,000 between July 2021 and October 2022. He used additional investor funds to repay earlier investors in a Ponzi-like fashion and to cover personal expenses, including more than $100,000 in trips to Turkey, Puerto Rico and Disney World, a 2021 Mercedes-Benz, a 2022 BMW, and purchases at Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
To keep the scheme going, Menard allegedly showed investors a fabricated ATM receipt reflecting an account balance of more than $8 million and a fake trading screen showing a net value over $1 million. In reality, the highest balance his accounts ever reached during that period was roughly $301,000, according to the AG’s investigation.
Menard was previously ordered to pay $765,875 in a related civil case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2024, after he failed to respond to the SEC’s complaint accusing him and a romantic partner, Laesha Jean-Louis, of defrauding more than 50 investors out of at least $1.65 million. Jean-Louis was later dismissed as a co-defendant in that case.
The prosecution is the latest in a string of financial fraud cases in recent years that have targeted Haitian communities through affinity fraud, in which perpetrators exploit trust within their own communities to lure investors. Menard’s name had circulated among community members for years, including during the fallout from the EminiFX cryptocurrency fraud case, and some told The Haitian Times they had also invested with MarcoTech and NovaTechFX, another Ponzi scheme that targeted Haitian investors.
How Haitian and immigrant communities can protect themselves from affinity fraud
Attorney General James urged New Yorkers to verify any investment professional’s registration through FINRA’s BrokerCheck, avoid wiring money or sending cryptocurrency to unvetted individuals, and be wary of anyone promising guaranteed high returns or pressuring quick decisions. Anyone who believes they were victimized by a similar scheme can file a complaint with the attorney general’s office online or by calling 1-800-771-7755.
Facts Only
Marc Henry Menard was convicted and sentenced by New York Attorney General Letitia James on July 30.
Menard pleaded guilty in April in Nassau County Supreme Court to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, and Securities Fraud.
He was sentenced to five years' probation, a ban from the securities industry for five years, and an order to repay victims $385,271.
The scheme ran through Marcotech LLC beginning in July 2020.
Menard solicited Haitian investors across Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, and Queens counties, as well as Florida and Georgia.
Investors were promised monthly returns between 12 and 20 percent.
Menard funneled money into personal trading accounts, incurring losses of more than $670,000 between July 2021 and October 2022.
He used investor funds to repay earlier investors and cover personal expenses, including over $100,000 in travel and luxury purchases.
Menard presented fabricated ATM receipts showing an account balance of more than $8 million and fake trading screens showing a net value over $1 million.
A related civil case with the Securities and Exchange Commission resulted in an order for Menard to pay $765,875 in 2024.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The narrative centers on the systematic exploitation of trust within specific immigrant communities through affinity fraud, where perpetrators leverage existing social bonds to solicit investments, a pattern seen across multiple schemes targeting Haitian and immigrant groups. The mechanism detailed—using fabricated documentation and promising unrealistic high returns—relies on the psychological vulnerability associated with community trust. The fallout from this case suggests a systemic issue where financial predation is interwoven with communal dynamics, as evidenced by previous fraud cases involving related entities like MarcoTech and NovaTechFX within the Haitian investment circles. The pattern involves an escalation: initial solicitation based on shared identity transitions into sophisticated deception using shell company structures and false asset representations to facilitate further personal enrichment. The implications point toward a need for robust mechanisms that empower community members, such as verifying professional registration through FINRA's BrokerCheck and creating systemic warnings against high-pressure investment promises. The persistence of this type of fraud suggests that addressing the financial harm requires looking beyond individual accountability to understand the cultural vectors through which these exploitations are successfully executed.
Bridge Questions: How can regulatory bodies implement proactive surveillance systems tuned to affinity group patterns? What structural changes are necessary to ensure that legal and financial literacy resources effectively reach vulnerable communities? If trust is the primary vulnerability exploited, what alternative trust-building frameworks can mitigate predatory behavior in investment solicitation?
Sentinel — Human
The article exhibits the structure and depth typical of investigative journalism, grounding specific legal outcomes in broader systemic issues affecting immigrant communities.