Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the sentencing of NELSON COUNNE, 71, a/k/a “Nelson Roth,” a/k/a “Justin Roth,” to 4-to-8 years in state prison for stealing more than $1.8 million from five women through a series of romance and investment scams. On June 5, 2024, COUNNE pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. 

“Nelson Counne used an expertly crafted persona and elaborate web of lies to convince women to hand over their savings,” said District Attorney Bragg. “At least five women were conned into pouring money into his supposed investment opportunities – while unknowingly helping him to repay previous victims and lure in new ones. While the scale of this fraud is remarkable, romance scams are all too common. We urge you to call us at 212-335-8900 if you or someone you know has been a victim.” 

As admitted in the defendant’s guilty plea, and according to court documents and statements made on the record in court, between December 12, 2012, and January 22, 2021, COUNNE stole more than $1.8 million from at least five women using the same romance and investment scam. COUNNE met most of the victims through online dating applications using the alias Nelson Roth or Justin Roth. He purported to be an independently wealthy retired art dealer and investor with homes in London, Manhattan, and the South of France. 

Shortly after entering the relationships, COUNNE presented each of the victims with a supposed investment opportunity. He refused to provide details, sometimes telling the women that the investment existed in a “gray area between legal and illegal,” and sometimes hinting he had access to inside information. Among the purported investments COUNNE claimed he could access were Alibaba, as the company prepared to become publicly traded, and a start-up company purportedly run by COUNNE and a former Google executive. Most of the victims were initially hesitant, but COUNNE persisted until each agreed to invest. 

After the initial investments, COUNNE sought additional financial support from each of the victims. He justified these requests by saying that the additional money was needed for investment-related expenses such as paying “fixers” to ensure that the deals were completed and paying salaries and housing costs for the staff of the tech start-up. COUNNE claimed that his funds were tied up in the investments, or that his accounts were frozen due to U.S. and European investigations into his financial activities. He promised to repay each of the victims their initial investment plus a substantial profit within a few weeks. 

Ultimately, almost all of COUNNE’s claims were false. Not only did he not own homes in London and the South of France, he has never traveled internationally and does not have a passport. He was not independently wealthy, and the only funds in his accounts were from victims of his romance scams. Instead of being invested, the victims’ funds were used to make COUNNE appear wealthy to new victims, and to repay previous victims who had detected his fraud. 

Assistant D.A.s Kofi Sansculotte (Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau) and Raymond Castello are handling the prosecution of this case, under the supervision of Jodie Kane (Chief of the Rackets Bureau and Acting Chief of the Investigation Division). 

Senior Rackets Investigator Thomas Mullin and former Rackets Investigator Daniel Schoenfeld provided assistance with the investigation, under the supervision of Assistant Chief Investigator Michael Wigdor, Assistant Chief of the Investigation Bureau Jonathan Reid, and Chief Investigator Walter Alexander. Senior Financial Investigator Lana Wong, Discovery Analyst Rebecca Singh, and former ADA Andrew Joyce also assisted with the investigation. 

The Forensic Accounting and Financial Investigations Bureau (“FAFI”) also provided valuable assistance, including Forensic Accountant Investigator William Martin, under the supervision of Irene Serrapica (Deputy Chief of FAFI) and Robert Demarest (Chief of FAFI). 

Defendant Information: 

NELSON COUNNE 

New York, New York 

Convicted:

• Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count 
• Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count 

Sentenced: 

• 4-to-8 years in state prison 

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