https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ot-trump-clemency-faces-50-years-in-new-fraud
https://archive.ph/n357u
A convicted Ponzi schemer whose 24-year prison term was commuted by President Donald Trump in 2021 was sentenced to another 37 years behind bars for stealing $44 million from investors after he was released.
Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein, 51, was sentenced Friday for defrauding investors who believed their money was buying Covid-19 masks, baby formula and first-aid kits bound for Ukraine. Instead, Weinstein and his conspirators used the money to repay early investors and for personal expenses like gambling in casinos and buying real estate, prosecutors said in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey.
“Mr. Weinstein received a gift that few have received in the United States,” US District Judge Michael Shipp said. Weinstein then “squandered” that gift after getting out of prison by starting again to steal from investors and launder their money, he said.
“Mr. Weinstein is a predator that has stolen investors’ life savings,” Shipp said.
The judge ordered Weinstein to pay restitution of $44 million for his conviction in March by a jury in Shipp’s courtroom. He also sentenced a co-defendant, Aryeh “Ari” Bromberg, to 12 years in prison.
The case is one example of what can go wrong when the president grants clemency to convicted defendants who commit new crimes. Earlier this week, a loan shark and convicted drug trafficker freed from prison by Trump in 2021 was sentenced to 27 months in prison for violating the terms of his federal release.
Shipp, who said he reviewed more than 120 victim statements, heard from five in the courtroom before sentencing Weinstein. All said that Weinstein caused them great financial or emotional harm. One man, referred to only as Victim CF, said Weinstein stole more than $1 million from him, his wife, their children, and his 88-year-old mother-in-law.
He said Weinstein’s “wicked, vile, unrepentant” actions “would shake any family to its core.”
A prosecutor said Weinstein is unrepentant.
Before convicting Weinstein on March 31, jurors heard from five of his co-defendants who pleaded guilty and testified as prosecution witnesses. They described how he orchestrated the fraud and used the alias “Mike Konig” to avoid detection of his past crimes.
Weinstein gave millions of dollars in investor money to his friends so they could gamble at casinos, prosecutors said, while he bought real estate and jewelry. He also hid his illicit business activities and assets to avoid paying $228.7 million in restitution he still owed to his victims from his first Ponzi scheme, they said.
In 2013, Weinstein pleaded guilty to a real estate Ponzi scheme and was sentenced to 22 years in prison by a judge who added two more years for a fraud involving the initial public offering of Facebook Inc., now Meta Platforms Inc.
He served nearly eight years before Trump commuted his sentence on the last day of his first term. Most of the victims were Orthodox Jews, and many signed letters asking Trump for mercy, citing the suffering of Weinstein’s wife and seven children.
At the time, the White House cited the support of several current and former congressmen, a prominent Jewish organization and Alan Dershowitz, the Harvard Law School emeritus professor. On the day of his release, Weinstein thanked his supporters, including Trump and his daughter, Ivanka.
Two other conspirators, Christopher Anderson and Richard Curry, raised tens of millions of dollars for the projects through their company, Tryon Management Group. But Tryon began having trouble paying investors and made payments in Ponzi-like fashion. In August 2022, Anderson and Curry learned that Weinstein was using an alias to arrange deals for Optimus.
They secretly recorded Weinstein in several meetings, including one where he said: “I finagled, and Ponzied, and lied to people to cover us for our deals,” Weinstein said in a recording.
Several months later, Anderson and Curry went with their lawyers to the FBI and US Attorney’s Office and agreed to cooperate, making hundreds of recordings of Weinstein, who was arrested in July 2023.
Weinstein was convicted with Bromberg of securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy counts. Weinstein was also convicted of making false statements to the US Probation Office.
(Updates with sentencing of Weinstein co-defendant, additional details)
https://archive.ph/n357u
Takeaways by Bloomberg AI
- Eliyahu "Eli" Weinstein was sentenced to 37 years in prison for stealing $44 million from investors after his release from prison.
- Weinstein and his conspirators used the money to repay early investors and for personal expenses like gambling and buying real estate, instead of buying Covid-19 masks, baby formula and first-aid kits as promised.
- US District Judge Michael Shipp ordered Weinstein to pay restitution of $44 million and said Weinstein "squandered" the gift of his commuted sentence by starting again to steal from investors and launder their money.
A convicted Ponzi schemer whose 24-year prison term was commuted by President Donald Trump in 2021 was sentenced to another 37 years behind bars for stealing $44 million from investors after he was released.
Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein, 51, was sentenced Friday for defrauding investors who believed their money was buying Covid-19 masks, baby formula and first-aid kits bound for Ukraine. Instead, Weinstein and his conspirators used the money to repay early investors and for personal expenses like gambling in casinos and buying real estate, prosecutors said in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey.
“Mr. Weinstein received a gift that few have received in the United States,” US District Judge Michael Shipp said. Weinstein then “squandered” that gift after getting out of prison by starting again to steal from investors and launder their money, he said.
“Mr. Weinstein is a predator that has stolen investors’ life savings,” Shipp said.
The judge ordered Weinstein to pay restitution of $44 million for his conviction in March by a jury in Shipp’s courtroom. He also sentenced a co-defendant, Aryeh “Ari” Bromberg, to 12 years in prison.
The case is one example of what can go wrong when the president grants clemency to convicted defendants who commit new crimes. Earlier this week, a loan shark and convicted drug trafficker freed from prison by Trump in 2021 was sentenced to 27 months in prison for violating the terms of his federal release.
Appeal Planned
Prosecutors sought a sentence of a half-century in prison – an unusually harsh term in a white-collar case. Weinstein’s lawyer, Ilana Haramati, asked for 15 years. Weinstein, who wore a dark green jail jump suit and sported a black beard, declined to make a statement in court. Haramati has said he is innocent and will appeal.Shipp, who said he reviewed more than 120 victim statements, heard from five in the courtroom before sentencing Weinstein. All said that Weinstein caused them great financial or emotional harm. One man, referred to only as Victim CF, said Weinstein stole more than $1 million from him, his wife, their children, and his 88-year-old mother-in-law.
He said Weinstein’s “wicked, vile, unrepentant” actions “would shake any family to its core.”
A prosecutor said Weinstein is unrepentant.
Destruction
“He is certainly not taking responsibility for the destruction he has rained down on these people,” Assistant US Attorney Carolyn Silane said. “Over the course of the last 20 years, Eli Weinstein has stolen a quarter of a billion dollars.”Before convicting Weinstein on March 31, jurors heard from five of his co-defendants who pleaded guilty and testified as prosecution witnesses. They described how he orchestrated the fraud and used the alias “Mike Konig” to avoid detection of his past crimes.
Weinstein gave millions of dollars in investor money to his friends so they could gamble at casinos, prosecutors said, while he bought real estate and jewelry. He also hid his illicit business activities and assets to avoid paying $228.7 million in restitution he still owed to his victims from his first Ponzi scheme, they said.
In 2013, Weinstein pleaded guilty to a real estate Ponzi scheme and was sentenced to 22 years in prison by a judge who added two more years for a fraud involving the initial public offering of Facebook Inc., now Meta Platforms Inc.
He served nearly eight years before Trump commuted his sentence on the last day of his first term. Most of the victims were Orthodox Jews, and many signed letters asking Trump for mercy, citing the suffering of Weinstein’s wife and seven children.
At the time, the White House cited the support of several current and former congressmen, a prominent Jewish organization and Alan Dershowitz, the Harvard Law School emeritus professor. On the day of his release, Weinstein thanked his supporters, including Trump and his daughter, Ivanka.
New Crimes
Prosecutors said Weinstein’s new crimes began within months of release. He worked behind the scenes with Bromberg in a company called Optimus Investments Inc. They solicited money for various products tied to the Covid pandemic, a baby formula shortage and the war in Ukraine.Two other conspirators, Christopher Anderson and Richard Curry, raised tens of millions of dollars for the projects through their company, Tryon Management Group. But Tryon began having trouble paying investors and made payments in Ponzi-like fashion. In August 2022, Anderson and Curry learned that Weinstein was using an alias to arrange deals for Optimus.
They secretly recorded Weinstein in several meetings, including one where he said: “I finagled, and Ponzied, and lied to people to cover us for our deals,” Weinstein said in a recording.
Several months later, Anderson and Curry went with their lawyers to the FBI and US Attorney’s Office and agreed to cooperate, making hundreds of recordings of Weinstein, who was arrested in July 2023.
Weinstein was convicted with Bromberg of securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy counts. Weinstein was also convicted of making false statements to the US Probation Office.
(Updates with sentencing of Weinstein co-defendant, additional details)
