Former US President and 2024 Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump showcases his knowledge of weightlifting as he delivers a speech at a Republican volunteer recruitment event at Fervent, a Calvary Chapel, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 8, 2023.
Image Source: Mario Tama | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — A New Jersey man, whose prison sentence for running a massive Ponzi scheme was commuted by Donald Trump on the final day of his presidency, now faces charges for orchestrating a similar fraudulent scheme.
Eli Weinstein and his accomplices are accused of overseeing a new Ponzi scheme that prosecutors claim has defrauded over $35 million from 150 victims.
This marks the third time Weinstein has been charged with defrauding investors. In 2013, he pleaded guilty to 45 counts of fraud and conspiracy for embezzling over $200 million from investors. In 2015, he pleaded guilty once again, this time for committing wire fraud while he was on trial for the Ponzi scheme.
Weinstein was granted clemency by Trump in 2021 after serving eight years of his 24-year prison sentence. His release from prison came after an expensive lobbying campaign that involved individuals close to Trump, including attorney Alan Dershowitz, who argued that Weinstein did not receive a fair trial.
The effort to secure clemency for Weinstein was later the focal point of an article published in The New York Times, which detailed how Weinstein’s allies paid for access to various insiders within the Trump administration.
On the day of his commutation, the White House portrayed Weinstein as a “father of seven children and a loving husband.”
The official statement on his commutation emphasized that he would receive strong support from his community and members of his faith upon his release.
During a press conference on Wednesday announcing the latest charges, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger stated, “Weinstein picked up right where he left off: stealing millions of dollars from investors through a web of lies and deceit.”
According to the criminal complaint, Weinstein and his accomplices created fraudulent investment funds and convinced prospective investors that their funds would be used for lucrative deals involving COVID-19 masks, scarce baby formula, and first-aid kits intended for Ukraine.
In order to conceal his true identity and criminal history, Weinstein used the pseudonym “Mike Konig” when communicating with investors.
In addition to the criminal charges, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also filed a civil complaint against Weinstein and five alleged co-conspirators.
Antonia Apps, director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office, stated, “The defendants repeatedly took money from unsuspecting investors for fake deals and moved funds around to pay out earlier investors, creating the false impression of real profits from these deals.”
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