Grand Jury Indicts Man After Del. Woman Loses $73K

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- The Delaware Attorney General's office says a New Jersey man has been indicted in a case in which a 62-year-old woman lost $73,000 in an investment scheme.

Attorney General Beau Biden said in a statement on Wednesday that 37-year-old John J. Papaneri, of Mount Laurel, N.J., has been charged with 15 counts of securities fraud and theft for soliciting the funds from the woman in the scheme.

Papaneri was arrested on May 18. State officials say he met the victim last February and told her he was a partner in a business that sells energy-efficient refrigeration units.

Authorities say he later contacted her in Delaware and asked her to invest in his company for a promised return of thousands of dollars but she received no money despite her investment.

Information from: The News Journal of Wilmington, Del.,
http://www.delawareonline.com/