“Earn More Worry Less,” an October ad read, the Buffalo News says. “Your Money Deserves the Best! Gen-See Makes The Difference.”
Kevin Keenan, a spokesman for the diocese, told CNA that no diocesan funds were invested with Piccoli.
Keenan said Piccoli had run his ads in the Western New York Catholic, but no customers had complained to the paper. He added it would be unfortunate should Piccoli be proven to have used the newspaper to find customers to defraud.
“It’s a quality newspaper, and we pride ourselves on having quality advertisers,” he said to the Buffalo News.
When CNA contacted Keenan on Friday, he said that he had conversed with Piccoli’s “shocked” clients.
“They trusted him and in some cases he was close friends with these investors, they certainly feel that that trust has been violated and they think he took advantage of their friendship,” he said.
Keenan reiterated that no money from Buffalo’s diocesan foundation was involved in the investments.
“A couple of our parishes had invested with him,” he explained, adding that “several” active and retired priests had also been victimized by the alleged Ponzi scheme.
However, the extent of their financial losses is still unknown, Keenan told CNA.
According to the Buffalo News, the SEC complaint seems to indicate that no one has yet lost any money, stating that, since January 2007, Piccoli and Gen-See Capital Corp. received more than $16 million and paid out “approximately the same amount.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy released Piccoli without bail, until his arraignment on Tuesday. Piccoli said he intended to hire a lawyer.
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Postal inspectors and the SEC reportedly want to hear from Piccoli’s investors in the hope of returning remaining funds.
“We want to talk to as many investors as possible to further investigate the case and, hopefully, to try and help them get their money back,” Williams said.