Former General Manager of The Foundry Restaurant Pleads Guilty to Multiple Felony Theft Charges

Concord, NH – Attorney General John M. Formella announces that James Peretti, the former general manager of The Foundry Restaurant (Foundry), located in Manchester, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty in Hillsborough Superior Court Northern District today to two felony theft charges stemming from his tenure at the Foundry.

In March of 2024, Peretti was charged with a class A felony count of Theft by Unauthorized Taking or Transfer which alleged that he, pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct, stole from the Foundry across nearly the entirety of his four-year tenure as general manager by generating fraudulent reimbursement claims and using the reimbursement claims as a basis to take cash he was not entitled to.

In June 2024, Peretti was charged with a separate class A felony count of Theft by Deception which alleged that he, pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct, also stole from the Foundry by falsifying an employee’s clock-in entries to make it appear the employee worked hours he actually did not, diverting paychecks reflecting the falsified hours away from the employee, depositing the paychecks into a bank account over which the employee had no control, and spending the resulting proceeds on items unrelated to the Foundry or the employee.

Peretti’s guilty pleas were entered pursuant to a capped plea agreement.  As part of the plea agreement, he has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $150,633 to the Foundry.  At a sentencing hearing scheduled for June 23, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. in Hillsborough Superior Court Northern District, the State will argue that Peretti should be sentenced to 2 to 4 years in the State Prison on the Theft by Unauthorized Taking or Transfer charge.  

On the Theft by Deception charge, Peretti will be sentenced to 7 ½ to 15 years in the State Prison, all of which will be suspended for a period of 15 years.  The suspended sentence will run concurrently with the sentence on the Theft by Unauthorized Taking charge.    

This case was investigated by Investigator Fred Lulka of the New Hampshire Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau and is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Zach Frish, also of the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, as well as Senior Assistant Attorney General Bryan J. Townsend, II, of the Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Unit.

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Former General Manager of The Foundry Restaurant Pleads Guilty to Multiple Felony Theft Charges

New Hampshire AG warns of ‘Phantom Hacker’ scam targeting older adults

by Daniel Duric

CONCORD — New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella issued a warning Thursday about a scam known as the “Phantom Hacker,” which has been mainly targeting older adults in the state.

According to Formella, the scam involves fraudsters who contact victims pretending to be computer technicians, claiming that the individuals’ computers or other electronic devices are infected with a virus or have been compromised.

The scammers then warn that the victims’ financial accounts are at risk.

An accomplice, posing as an official from a financial or government institution, convinces the victim to transfer money from the supposedly at-risk accounts to “protect the funds.” Often, the victims are instructed to move their funds into accounts that the scammers falsely guarantee are secure but are actually under their control.

In other cases, victims are tricked into purchasing valuable items like gold, which a scammer’s courier then collects from their homes under the guise of “safekeeping.”

The Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Unit of the attorney general’s office has received multiple reports over the past month of older adults falling prey to these schemes.

Scammers convinced the victims to buy gold to safeguard their assets, leading to significant financial losses when the gold was picked up by the fraudsters’ couriers.

Formella emphasized that neither financial institutions nor legitimate law enforcement would ever ask individuals to purchase valuable items for safekeeping, send unsolicited messages about compromised devices, or pressure them into paying money or providing personal information without proper verification.

The attorney general advised residents to be cautious and provided a series of steps to avoid falling victim to such scams, including not clicking on suspicious links, hanging up on unsolicited calls about compromised devices, and verifying the legitimacy of any entity claiming to offer protection.

He also urged those who have encountered such scams or have been victimized to contact the local police and report the incidents to the Office of the Attorney General through their Consumer Protection Hotline or email, as well as to the New Hampshire Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services.

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New Hampshire AG warns of ‘Phantom Hacker’ scam targeting older adults