Long Island woman dodges jail time in $1.5M ‘Who’s Who’ fraud scheme

A Long Island woman who took part in a $1.5 million scam to defraud the elderly caught a break and got no jail time Monday — even though prosecutors said she hasn’t yet paid a dime in restitution to the victims.
Mara Ficarra, 60, ducked jail time for running a Who’s Who-style directory scam from 2013 to 2018 with her late husband, targeting thousands of victims.
Ficarra pleaded guilty to her role in the scheme back in June 2022, but Long Island Federal Court Judge Joanna Seybert delayed her sentencing in November 2022, giving her two years to earn money to pay back her victims.
Prosecutors pointed out that she earned about $8,000 toward that $1.5 million restitution, which is in an escrow account held by her attorney, and she still owns a house in Southampton, but hasn’t paid back any of her victims — 21 of whom have died in the past two years.
Seybert ruled on Monday prison time wasn’t appropriate, stating that her husband, John, was the mastermind of the scheme and that she was taking care of her 86-year-old mother and her 20-year-old son, who suffers from anxiety. The judge gave Ficarra time served, plus three years of supervised release.
Federal sentencing guidelines meant she could have faced almost five years in prison.
A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said Monday that the government will move to seize her house.
The Ficarras ran their listing scam under the company names Remington Biographies Inc., Remington Bookkeepers Inc., and Mentorship America1 Inc.  They’d purportedly publish directories like “The Remington Registry of Outstanding Professionals” and fire off mailings telling people they could be included in the listings for $14.
“Dear Nominee,” the letters read, “Your 2 books and your plaque are paid for in full and ready for delivery. Please send a check for $14.00 dollars for shipping and handling.”
Thousands took the bait, and the Ficarras used their marks’ account and bank routing numbers to create fake checks for larger amounts, which they’d use to line their pockets.
The Ficarras were hit with federal charges in 2018, and John Ficarra died in 2021.
Ficarra pleaded guilty in June 2022 to conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud, later arguing in a sentencing memo that her husband masterminded the scheme, and that she played a minor role, helping with banking and booking efforts while taking care of her son and a neighbor’s child.
Prosecutors argued that her involvement was “critical to the success of the conspiracy,” pointing out that she recruited family members, including a minor, to stuff envelopes with scam letters.
“I think the court fairly evaluated my client’s role in the offense and her life circumstances and arrived at an appropriate sentence,” her lawyer, Kevin Keating, said Monday.