International Fugitive Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stealing Over $10 Million from a New Hampshire Investment Company

CONCORD - A Guatemalan man was sentenced today in federal court in Concord for stealing over $10 million from a New Hampshire-based investment company, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Roberto Montano, a/k/a Jorge Roberto Montano Midence, a/k/a Roberto Pellegrini, a/k/a 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, 2024, Montano pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

"The defendant's theft was egregious. Over the course of several years, he stole more than $10 million and squandered the funds on a series of failed investments. In addition, after the fraud was uncovered, the defendant fled the United States, evading law enforcement for almost a decade before he was arrested," said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young. "This conviction and sentence underscore that this office and our law enforcement partners across the world will never stop to bring fraudsters to justice."

"Robert Montano actively led his client to believe they were investing responsibly, putting their money into low-risk projects. But as his lies continued and the losses mounted to $10 million, Mr. Montano engaged in a cover-up, trying to conceal this staggering fraud before fleeing the U.S.," said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. "Simply put, this case is about greed and the serious abuse of trust. Today's sentence holds Mr. Montano accountable for his clear disdain for the law, and highlight's the FBI's determination to bring financial fraudsters like him to justice, no matter where in the world they try to hide."

Montano is a Guatemalan citizen who managed two forestry projects in Guatemala for a New Hampshire-based investment adviser between 2007 and 2014. Beginning in approximately late 2009, Montano embezzled the projects' funds by (1) diverting cash and concealing the diversions using altered bank and financial statements; (2) mortgaging the projects' properties without authorization and investing the proceeds in failed business ventures; and (3) stealing teak forestry subsidies paid by the Guatemalan government. To conceal his embezzlement, 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 $1,147,604 when it actually had a zero balance.

After Montano was alerted to an investigation into the fraud in 2014, he participated in a Skype call with the victim in which he admitted to embezzling funds "many years ago." He admitted he "cooked the books" and "illegally" mortgaged properties. At the time, Montano was in Miami and promised that he would travel to New England. He also said 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. While in Guatemala, the defendant participated in another call with the victim where he again admitted to embezzlement and fraud totaling approximately $10 million. However, the defendant 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 purported life coach and yoga instructor.

Since 2014, the FBI was actively engaged in efforts to locate and arrest Montano. In 2022, the FBI received multiple reports that Montano was living in a resort town on the Pacific Coast in Nicaragua. After that, Montano agreed to meet with federal agents at the airport in Managua, Nicaragua, and flew to Miami International Airport. Once he was arrested in Miami, 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."

After Montano completes his sentence in the United States, he faces deportation to Guatemala, where he is charged with additional offenses.

The FBI led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), Republic of Guatemala, the FBI's Legal Attaché in Panama City, Panama, the FBI Miami Field Office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. State Department, specifically the U.S. Embassy in Managua, Nicaragua, and the Embassy of Italy in Managua, Nicaragua. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen prosecuted the case.

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