Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) announced today that the CEO of an energy company and a senior executive at the company have been indicted for defrauding investors of $3.3 million in a securities fraud scheme involving purported renewable energy projects.
Ari Goldstein, 55, of North Caldwell, New Jersey, and Abbie Mandell, 51, of Bethpage, New York, are each charged by indictment with one count of securities fraud (second degree), three second-degree counts and one third-degree count of theft by deception, and one count of misconduct by a corporate official (second degree). Goldstein is separately charged with two additional counts of theft by deception (second and third degree) and 10 third-degree tax fraud charges for filing a fraudulent tax return, failing to file tax returns, and failing to pay income tax from 2020 to 2024.
“The defendants allegedly took advantage of a genuine need and public interest in renewable energy to trick investors into believing that their company was a valuable and legitimate business enterprise,” said Attorney General Platkin. “We allege it was not. Instead, the defendants allegedly used the company as a vehicle to take millions of dollars from vulnerable investors. The time has come for them to be held accountable.”
“The victims of this alleged fraud put their trust in the defendants, believing they were investing in a legitimate source of clean energy,” said DCJ Director Theresa L. Hilton. “Instead, their money was allegedly diverted by the defendants for their own personal use. This office will always work to protect the public from such schemes.”
“The securities fraud scheme set out in the indictment allegedly harmed victims by exploiting their interests in developing green energy with empty promises of high investment returns,” said Legal Chief Pablo Quiñones of the Office of Securities Fraud and Financial Crimes Prosecutions (OSFFCP). “This case illustrates the types of sophisticated, financial crimes that this office was formed to investigate and prosecute, and our continuing effort to hold high-level executives accountable.”
According to documents filed in this case, from July 2019 to May 2025, Goldstein and Mandell misled investors into purchasing shares in Breezy Point Energy Corp. (BPE), based in Essex County, New Jersey, and providing funds for a BPE renewable energy project purportedly under development in Montana. Victims were allegedly induced to invest based on various false representations about BPE, including that the company had a market value ranging from $10 million to billions of dollars, had acquired or controlled land in Montana, and was close to executing viable business deals that would generate significant financial returns for investors. BPE never, in fact, acquired nor controlled any land in Montana to develop renewable energy from wind or solar power.
Goldstein and Mandell allegedly knew that BPE engaged in limited, if any, legitimate business activity related to renewable energy. Most of the funds provided by investors to BPE were instead allegedly siphoned from the company for personal use by the defendants, such as paying Goldstein and Mandell large salaries, renting a mansion for Goldstein and his family, leasing luxury vehicles, and making numerous large cash withdrawals.
Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. Third-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to five years in a state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
Deputy Attorney General Jack Daily is handling this matter for the OSFFCP, under the supervision of Legal Chief Quiñones and Deputy Legal Chief Brendan Stewart.
The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by detectives and investigators within the Division of Criminal Justice assigned to the OSFFCP, including Detective Stephen Kircher and Special Investigators Sean McCarthy, Stephen Minikel, and Jordan Goodman, and investigators with the New Jersey Division of Taxation. The Attorney General thanked the New Jersey Division of Taxation-Office of Criminal Investigations for its assistance in the case. The Attorney General also thanked the following agencies for their assistance: the North Caldwell Police Department, the Montana Department of Justice, the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office, the Flathead County Attorney’s Office, the Glacier County Attorney’s Office, the Missoula County Attorney’s Office, the Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office, and the New York County District Attorney’s Office.
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with pertinent information is asked to contact the DCJ’s tip line at (800) 277-2427 or use the OSFFCP’s complaint email at OSFFCP@njdcj.org.
Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
