Ozeas remembers growing frustrated with her ex-husband. The couple were living in a sprawling art loft in Venice at the time, a property valued at $1.6 million last month, according to Zillow. Her husband talked about clients and went on business trips but offered few specifics. Money kept coming in, but she never knew from where. When he lost that job, Ozeas said, he “started spiraling.” Ozeas said Bloom found work for several years with a company that put advertisements on bus benches. “In retrospect, I have absolutely no idea if anything ever told me was true,” she said. She remembers Bloom struggling to find work, and doesn’t believe he was running any scams at the time, though she offers a caveat for nearly anything she says about her ex-husband. That was his charm.”ĭespite strenuous objections from her friends and family, Ozeas married Bloom in 2009 and they moved to L.A. “To be that person that understands you better than anybody else ever has. “He’s literally able to sit down and kind of very quickly figure out what to say to make himself indispensable in your life,” she said. Ozeas doesn’t remember what they spoke about that night in a Manhattan bar, but she knows it didn’t feel like a first date conversation. Ozeas said Bloom approached her the same way he approached targets from Manhattan to Hollywood - he sat down with a drink in hand and started talking. A few years later, he met the mark who would lead him to California.Īsk Nancy Ozeas about Bloom now, and the Santa Monica resident describes him as a “certified, verified sociopath.” In 2009, she called him her husband. Bloom stole “in excess of $50,000” and schemed to defraud at least 10 people, court records show.Īfter a little less than five years in prison, Bloom was paroled in 2006. In 2000, he pleaded guilty to grand larceny and violations of business law, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office. If they invested with Bloom before the companies went public, they would make a fortune, he said.Īs a dozen people in Los Angeles would learn 20 years later, Bloom had a habit of selling things he didn’t own. He told them he had access to what he called “gift I.P.O.’s,” according to the Observer. This time he introduced himself as David Daly, claimed he drove a Bentley and reeled in a few bar regulars with sound investment advice. But the Whiz Kid was back in action by 1999.īloom was a midday regular at Houston’s, a high-priced hamburger bar in Midtown Manhattan, according to a report in the New York Observer. Records show he was released from prison in 1994. He was sentenced to eight years in federal prison and barred from taking part in the securities industry for life. The swindle landed Bloom in newspaper headlines - where he earned the Whiz Kid moniker - and inside a federal courthouse.īloom pleaded guilty to mail and securities fraud in 1987. He bought million-dollar paintings, a Manhattan condo, a Long Island beach house and an Aston Martin. But he still pulled in more than $15 million from roughly 140 clients.īloom only invested in himself, using his clients’ funds to bankroll a lavish lifestyle. He mostly targeted marks in their 50s and 60s - including his parents’ wealthy associates - claiming his investment clientele included Bill Cosby and members of the Rockefeller family, according to published reports. While at Duke, he launched an investment group that allegedly paid off small profits.īloom set his sights higher when he returned to New York. Thank you for your support.Įxplore more Subscriber Exclusive content.īorn on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Bloom vacationed in the Hamptons and attended an exclusive prep school before studying art history at Duke University, according to a New York Times article. Times subscribers special access to our best journalism. Subscribers get exclusive access to this story
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