He said they were investing in a luxury shop-from-home Web site. Prosecutors say he blew the money on luxuries for his home.
Site developer Andrew Albert was busted yesterday for allegedly bilking investors in his on1ave.com out of almost $600,000.
He said the “site would feature a virtual street akin to famous retail boulevards like Madison Avenue or Rodeo Drive,” said Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr.
“The company he created served as nothing more than a bank account for his lavish lifestyle.”
In 2008, prosecutors say, Albert persuaded three investors to sign up for a high-end shopping site that would let visitors use an avatar to walk down virtual streets, shopping in stores like Prada and Ralph Lauren and trying on clothes.
But he transferred tens of thousands into an account in the name of Equation Entertainment LLC, a struggling media-consulting business he had formed in 2004, court filings say.
The investors sued last year. His $3 million countersuit is pending. Meanwhile, he’s pleaded not guilty to grand larceny and scheming to defraud, and is due back in court Oct. 11.