Philippine mayor’s son lands on FBI’s most wanted list

A notice from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation shows Rey Grabato II as one of the agency’s Most Wanted Fraudsters.

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — A scion of a political family in Iloilo province has been listed among the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted fraudsters.

US authorities offered a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Rey Grabato II.

He was reportedly on the run after his involvement in a scheme that defrauded around 2,000 investors, including hundreds in New Jersey.

Together with co-defendant Thomas Nicholas Salzano, he allegedly conned investors of over $650 million between February 2018 and January 2022, according to the FBI.

Grabato faces a string of federal charges in the United States, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to tax.

The US District Court in Newark issued a federal warrant for his arrest on Oct. 12, 2022. 

According to the FBI and US Department of Justice, Grabato served as president and majority owner of National Realty Investment Advisors LLC, a Secaucus, New Jersey-based real estate investment firm.  

He allegedly made false representation about how much money the company’s investment fund was worth in a bid to buy ownership stakes in companies that invest in real estate.

On top of that, there were allegations that he also tried to bilk the Internal Revenue Service of $26 million in outstanding tax liabilities over 15 years. 

Grabato is the son and namesake of incumbent Mina Mayor Rey Grabato and former mayor Lydia Grabato. 

According to his family, he went home to Mina in May 2022 to recover after undergoing brain surgery in the US following an accident.