Victims Don't Really Hate Brooklyn Investor Accused Of Fraud

Hey, you've lost your life savings of $120,000 to $150,000 with an investor who was apparently running a $40 million scam out of a Bay Ridge storefront—what do you tell the Daily News? If you're Barbara Grebin, you say, "I don't hate him; I wouldn't want to waste my time hating anybody," but you make sure to add, "But I would like to throw him down the sewer." Philip Barry is accused of running a Ponzi scheme with dozens of victims—even NY State Conservative Party boss Michael Long lost $15,000, yet Long said, "I don't think he's a crook. I think he really felt that he was investing wisely and making money for people." Hence Barry's comment to the Daily News, "It's all in real estate. I'm going to keep on working to make sure everyone gets the profit they are entitled to." (Maybe his modest behavior had people hooked, too: "Investors said he was even too cheap to buy a sandwich for lunch... he brought in packets of cheese and bread to make his own.") While the authorities haven't charged him with a crime—though documents show he was promising clients returns of 12-36%—a judge ordered that he pay "hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages" to clients.