The court document also noted that Santillo even “threw himself a party at a nightclub in Las Vegas for which he commissioned a song about himself to be played.” The lyrics referred to Santillo as “King Perry” and boasted about his “$10,000 suit everywhere he rides.” And as for his lifestyle, the lyrics said, “Pop the champagne in L.A., New York to Florida; buy another bottle just to spray it all over ya."
The court said that by the time the scheme collapsed in late 2017 and early 2018, Santillo and Parris had returned about $45 million of the $115.5 million they swindled from about 1,000 investors between January 2012 and June 2018. They still owe $71 million.
Santillo first registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in 2003 while working for NYLIFE Securities, according to BrokerCheck. He spent a little over a year there and went on to work for three other firms—Nationwide Securities, USAllianz Securities and Questar Capital Corporation. He spent less than a year at those firms and has not been registered with Finra since 2007.
His attorney, James Nobles, could not be reached for comment.
Christopher Parris pleaded guilty to mail fraud in August for his role in the Ponzi scheme. He also pleaded guilty to wire fraud involving the fraudulent sale of purported N95 masks during the pandemic to the Department of Veterans Affairs and other companies, according to court documents. He is awaiting sentencing.