Fugitive gets 5 years for embezzling millions from NH-based investor
Aug. 8—A Guatemalan man was sentenced in federal court Thursday to five years in prison for embezzling more than $10 million from teak farms backed by a New Hampshire-based investment company, prosecutors said this week.
Roberto Montano, aka Jorge Roberto Montano Midence, aka Roberto Pellegrini, aka Alberto Yardi, 58, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Landya B. McCafferty to 60 months in prison and one year of supervised release.
On February 13, Montano pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He was charged by complaint in 2015 and indicted in 2021.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Jane Young labeled Montano's actions "egregious."
"Over the course of several years, he stole more than $10 million and squandered the funds on a series of failed investments," Young said. "This conviction and sentence underscore that this office and our law enforcement partners across the world will never stop to bring fraudsters to justice."
Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Boston Division said the case is about "greed and the serious abuse of trust."
Montano is a Guatemalan citizen who managed two forestry projects in that country for an investment fund connected to an unidentified company based in Lebanon between 2007 and 2014.
Beginning in late 2009, prosecutors say, Montano embezzled the projects' funds by diverting cash and concealing the diversions using altered bank and financial statements, and mortgaging the projects' properties without authorization and investing the proceeds in failed business ventures. Montano also was accused of stealing teak forestry subsidies paid by the Guatemalan government.
To hide his actions, prosecutors say, Montano altered or deleted entries in financial statements and moved funds back and forth between accounts during audits. For example, the defendant provided the victim a false bank statement reporting that one of the bank accounts had a cash balance of approximately $1.15 million, when the balance was actually zero.
After Montano learned he was under investigation, prosecutors say, he took part in a Skype call in 2014 with the alleged victim in which he admitted to embezzling funds "many years ago," allegedly saying he had "cooked the books" and illegally mortgaged properties.
Montano was in Miami at the time and promised he would travel to New England, claimed he would not flee and added, "If I have to go to prison, I'll go to prison."
Montano instead fled the United States for Guatemala, prosecutors said. While in Guatemala, he took part in another call with the victim where he again admitted to embezzlement and fraud totaling approximately $10 million.
However, he was also wanted by Guatemalan authorities, and he moved to Nicaragua, where he has been living for several years under an alias. Most recently, Montano was known as "Alberto Yardi," a supposed life coach and yoga instructor.
Montano was arrested on Nov. 1, 2023, at Miami International Airport. Once taken into custody, Montano provided law enforcement a five-page document admitting his guilt.
The first two sentences read, "I am guilty. I abused the trust (the victim) placed in me," court documents show.
After Montano completes his sentence in the United States, he faces deportation to Guatemala, where he is charged with additional offenses.
