Story by Ethan
On February 25th, 2026, the arrest of Marat Likhtenstein, age 65, was announced by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Marat Likhtenstein was charged with three counts of second-degree Larceny, two counts of third-degree Larceny, and five counts of violating General Business Law Section 352-C 6. The arrest and charges against Marat Likhtenstein were a result of an investigation handled by District Attorney’s Asset Forfeiture and Crimes Against Revenue Bureau Chief Financial Investigator Ludwig Sanchez Financial and Investigator Jose Carlos Covas, District Attorney’s Investigations Division Intelligence Analyst Veranika Basak, and KCDA Detective Investigators.
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, between the dates of October 28th, 2022, and February 5th, 2026, Marat Likhtenstein allegedly began running a scheme utilizing fraudulent promissory notes to convince victims into investing in supposed business opportunities. The defendant claimed that he was unable to discuss the details of the business investments but that he would pay the victims back various rates of return as high as 30 percent interest in alignment with the promissory notes. Marat Likhtenstein is alleged to have stolen $378,500 from a 46-year-old man, $325,000 from a 69-year-old man, $76,000 from another 46-year-old man, $37,100 from a 68-year-old woman, and $32,400 from a 68-year-old man. All the victims listed were also from Brooklyn, New York. Allegedly Marat Likhtenstein used the money paid to him for personal expenses and make other payments back to victims of the alleged ponzi scheme. During this time Marat Likhtenstein was a FINRA-licensed financial advisor, a New York State licensed insurance agent registered to sell security and insurance products through Likhtenstein Financial Planning Inc.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Marat Likhtenstein are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
