Parents in upstate New York paid hundreds of dollars to enroll their children in a new travel basketball program. The kids practiced, but the uniforms and tournaments families expected never arrived.
Now police have charged Norbert A. Sygdziak, 44, of Milton, with fraud and larceny offenses over the Saratoga Raptors program, which the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office says was used to collect money from multiple families.
One parent, Joe Tocci, told the Times Union that he and his ex-wife paid $840 for their 12-year-old son. He said other families lost anywhere from $500 to about $1,000 each.
The Raptors had roughly 40 children divided between 12-and-under and 14-and-under teams, according to Tocci. They practiced for about a month, but when scheduled tournaments failed to happen and uniforms did not arrive, parents began questioning what their fees had actually purchased.
Parents Paid for Uniforms and Tournament Basketball
The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Milton man in late July, accusing him of collecting money for a fake youth basketball team. https://t.co/eKE7szI517
— FOX23News (@FOX23News) August 10, 2026
The Saratoga Raptors presented families with what appeared to be a travel basketball program for young players in the Saratoga area. Parents expected their fees to cover participation in an organized team, including uniforms and competition in scheduled tournaments.
Tocci said the children initially practiced for about a month in Saratoga Springs. That gave families something tangible in return for their payments and made the program appear to be moving toward a normal travel season.
Questions emerged when tournament play was supposed to begin. Tocci told the Times Union that events started being canceled, and he became increasingly concerned. Parents also had not received the promised uniforms.
Police Say the Payments Were Part of an Ongoing Fraud Scheme
The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office says it received several complaints involving the Raptors and began investigating the money families had paid. Police arrested Sygdziak on July 21. He was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, first-degree scheme to defraud, second-degree scheme to defraud and five counts of petit larceny for alleged conduct occurring between February and April.
The Sheriff’s Office accused Sygdziak of engaging in a “systematic ongoing course of conduct” intended to defraud more than one person and obtaining property worth more than $1,000. Investigators also allege he stole property worth more than $1,000 and committed five separate acts underlying the petit-larceny counts.
Under New York law, first-degree scheme to defraud can apply when someone allegedly conducts an ongoing scheme targeting more than one person and obtains more than $1,000 through false or fraudulent representations or promises. Fourth-degree grand larceny can likewise apply when the value of allegedly stolen property exceeds $1,000.
One Family Paid $840 for Their 12-Year-Old
Tocci, of Stillwater, said he and his ex-wife paid $840 to enroll their 12-year-old son. He estimated that the overall program involved about 40 players spread across two age groups.
He also disputed the suggestion that the criminal complaints came from only a handful of unhappy parents. Tocci estimated that about 80% of the families eventually pursued charges against Sygdziak.
The Sheriff’s Office has not publicly identified every family involved or released a total amount all parents collectively paid. Sheriff Jeffrey Brown did say additional potential victims contacted investigators after the department publicly announced Sygdziak’s arrest.
Sygdziak Says the Basketball Program Was Real
Sygdziak disputes the allegations. A man identifying himself as Sygdziak answered a telephone number listed on the Raptors’ Facebook page and told the Times Union that the accusations were false. He maintained that families received months of practices and scrimmages and said the tournaments were the portion of the program that did not take place.
“The allegations are false,” he told the newspaper. Sygdziak said the families who complained had participated in practices three times a week and scrimmage games for more than four months. He attributed the dispute to parents deciding they wanted different coaches and removing him from the program.
The Parents Reorganized the Team Without Him
The collapse of the Raptors did not end the children’s basketball season. Tocci said the families brought in two other coaches and reorganized the players under a new name, the Springs City Hoopers. That allowed the children to continue playing after the disputes surrounding the original program.
The replacement team went on to participate in tournament competition. Tocci told the Times Union that the Hoopers ended their season by winning a tournament in Syracuse. Tocci said the parents’ priority became creating the season their children had expected while also preventing other families from encountering the same problem.
Police Are Aware of Complaints Involving an Earlier Business
The Times Union also reported that Sygdziak previously co-founded Ride Along Now, a New Jersey school transportation company. NJ.com reported in December 2025 that the company had accumulated 29 Better Business Bureau complaints alleging deceptive conduct, another 16 complaints with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs and multiple lawsuits.
Brown specifically told the Times Union that investigators did not consider the transportation-company matter necessarily relevant to the Raptors case, though the Sheriff’s Office was aware of it.
Sygdziak was not held in custody after his July 21 arrest. Police released him on appearance tickets directing him to answer the charges in Malta Town Court. As of the latest reporting, the criminal case remained pending. No guilty plea, trial verdict or sentence had been reported.
Verify a Travel Team Before Paying the Full Season Fee
Parents considering a travel basketball program should ask for more than a team name and practice schedule before paying hundreds or thousands of dollars. Request a written breakdown showing what the fee covers, including uniforms, gym time, tournament entry fees, coaching costs and any other expenses.
Ask for the actual tournament schedule before registration closes. Parents can independently contact tournament organizers or check their official websites to confirm that an event exists and that the team is registered or expected to participate.
If a program claims to be affiliated with the Amateur Athletic Union, verify that claim. The AAU advises parents to ask to see a club’s AAU membership and provides tools for locating clubs and checking tournament information.
Paying by credit card can provide additional options when promised services are not delivered. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says a charge for goods or services not delivered as agreed can qualify as a billing-error dispute, and consumers generally should notify the card issuer promptly.
If a youth program appears to have taken money through deliberate deception, parents can report the matter to local law enforcement and file a consumer complaint with the New York Attorney General’s Office. Families should preserve the original advertising and payment records because those materials can show precisely what was promised when the money was collected.