According to court papers, he misled dozens
of investors since 2013 by telling them that his
company used technology developed by the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
to create a breathalyzer sensor technology that
could detect cancer and narcotics.
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said
in a release that Barbera enticed investors
with claims that an institutional investor was
on board, including a large publicly traded
chemical company, that licensing deals were in
the works and that an initial public offering of
shares was likely.
“As alleged, James Barbera defrauded investors
out of millions of dollars by offering the
opportunity to invest in a seemingly plausible
but wholly fictitious technology, purportedly
developed in coordination with NASA,” she said.
William F. Sweeney Jr., head of New York’s FBI
office, said Barbera spent half of investors’
money on private school and college tuition
for his children and mortgage payments on his
apartment alongside Manhattan’s Central Park.
Meanwhile, he claimed falsely that he had
an exclusive arrangement with NASA and
used the agency’s logo to solicit investors,
authorities said.
“As we demonstrated today, Barbera’s non-
existent ‘exclusive’ landed him nothing more
than a trip through the federal criminal justice
system,” Sweeney said.
Authorities also said Barbera’s spending
included $5,400 on spas and salons, $4,400 for
pet-related expenses and $477,000 to Barbera’s
two ex-wives, his mother, and his daughters.