Jay Lucas, a Portsmouth resident and veteran of state Republican politics who ran a boutique investment firm that raised tens of millions of dollars to finance start-up companies, pleaded guilty in a New York courtroom Friday to securities fraud.
The 71-year-old will be sentenced later this year; he faces up to 65 years in prison and $5 million in fines.
“I knew at the time it was wrong and a huge mistake and a crime,” Lucas told the judge during his hearing. “I deeply regret my conduct and I'm sorry for what I have done.”
Lucas was arrested last December on allegations he bilked investors out of as much as $50 million to fund starts ups in the health and wellness sector. Among the ventures Lucas funneled investor money to is a company called Immunocologie, which prosecutors described as a luxury skincare business run by his wife. Most of the money diverted to Immunocologie went to “parties and trips to luxury resorts” by Lucas’s wife, according to court records.
In addition, prosecutors alleged Lucas spent money on personal expenses including rent and alimony, and to purchase and run the Claremont Eagle Times. The newspaper abruptly went dark last year after Lucas failed to pay employees.
Read more: He bought the local paper to help his hometown. Now, he's being blamed for its demise.
Operating out of both a Manhattan apartment and a residence in Portsmouth, Lucas began soliciting investors more than a decade ago, according to prosecutors. In exchange for managing the funds, Lucas collected a fee.
“The funds were struggling with liquidity,” Lucas said in court. “Over the years, I took millions of dollars of investor money to pay operating expenses, which included my own salary.”
Lucas remains free on bail, pending his sentencing.
The guilty plea comes at the end of a long and public career in business and politics for Lucas, who was the 1998 Republican nominee for governor. He was defeated by then-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen.
In recent years, Lucas has sought to raise the profile of his hometown of Newport, including through the purchase of the newspaper and other philanthropic efforts. He launched a nonprofit dubbed "The Sunshine Initiative," which sought to restore Main Street businesses in small towns across America through community-minded civic engagement.
