A Westchester businessman has been accused of using a real estate scheme to defraud friends and associates out of nearly $6 million, before blowing the money on himself.
Andrew Laub was charged this week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York with one count of wire fraud. Federal prosecutors say Laub lied to friends and family members, some of whom had known him since childhood, telling them he was investing their money in real estate but never following through.
Laub was arrested in Goldens Bridge, New York, Tuesday before appearing in front of a judge in White Plains federal court. Wire fraud carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
The charge is based on findings by a U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigator described in a recently unsealed complaint, which claims Laub represented himself as a real estate developer and said he was formerly associated with a firm that owned and managed a $750 million portfolio.
Laub sent his first victim, described in the complaint as someone he had known for several years, a list of properties that were being redeveloped and sold, claiming the victim would earn 45 percent in interest if he invested. The victim gave Laub $250,000 for the scheme in 2020, before prompting their family to also invest with Laub.
By 2025, the victim and family members had invested millions with Laub for purported real estate investments, shown in documents described in the complaint.
But on a recorded phone call with the victim in 2025, Laub admitted to using the money for personal expenses, not on real estate investments.
A second victim, who knew Laub for 12 years, allegedly sent him $180,000 related to the sale of a Bronx property. But Laub never bought the property.
A third victim, who knew Laub since childhood, similarly invested $325,000 with him for the purchase and resale of a New York property. But despite executing a promissory note, Laub never bought the property.
The postal inspector alleges in the affidavit that Laub used investments from some victims to send money to others in a Ponzi-like scheme. At the same time, much of the money was spent on “personal items and gambling,” according to the complaint.
Neither Laub nor an attorney representing him could be immediately reached Wednesday.
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