Florida man pleads guilty in fake-heirscam

A Florida man admitted in federal court yesterday that he helped orchestrate a get-rich-quick scheme with a longtime friend posing as the heiress to a phony $2 billion estate.

Authorities said Gerald W. Radomski, 64, of Largo, helped market the scheme in which victims were told that if they made investments with the purported heiress, co-defendant Bari Lynn Berger, 67, she would repay them with a "gift" from the estate when she inherited the money.

Many of the victims who were duped were elderly or retired and were promised returns of between 100 and 1,000 times their investment. All told, 148 investors ponied up more than $1.7 million between January 2008 and March 2009, prosecutors said.

About 40 of the 148 victims were from the Philadelphia area.

U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe set sentencing for Radomski, who pleaded guilty to one count each of mail fraud and wire fraud Nov. 5. He was released on $50,000 unsecured bond.

The government's plea memo said that in May 2008, Radomski was introduced to an Ardmore woman, identified in court papers as "A.H.," who specialized in marketing "highly secretive" investment opportunities to wealthy and generally elderly clients. The plea memo said Radomski enlisted her to promote the scheme.

Radomski told A.H. that Berger was the illegitimate daughter of a dead billionaire who had set aside $2 billion of his estate for Berger.

Radomski told A.H. that Berger could not claim the inheritance until she was able to pay her bills, establish a permanent home and obtain medical care. Berger needed financial assistance to meet those terms, Radomski told A.H., according to the plea memo.

A.H. invested in the scheme and, at the behest of Radomski and Berger, instructed individuals to send contributions to Radomski or herself and another investor she knew in Alabama.

They would then transfer the funds to Radomski's bank accounts. Many victims believed Radomski to be a lawyer or personal representative of Berger, the plea memo said. (A.H. and the Alabama investor were not charged with any wrongdoing.)

Radomski kept about $300,000. The rest of the invested funds were wired or sent by courier to Berger or withdrawn by her, the plea memo said.

Authorities said Berger spent her proceeds on jewelry, wigs, sunglasses, pet supplies, an RV and a couple of motorcycles.

Berger pleaded not guilty to mail and wire fraud July 8 and was released on $50,000 unsecured bond. She is scheduled to stand trial Dec. 7.