Key takeaways:
- Five men, including Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein, have been charged with defrauding more than 150 investors out of $35 million in a “Ponzi-like scheme”
- Weinstein was previously convicted of defrauding investors out of $230 million and was serving a lengthy prison sentence until it was commuted by President Donald Trump in 2019
- Weinstein and the other four men allegedly used false statements and misrepresentations to convince investors to invest in Optimus Investments Inc. and its related entities, and used the money to pay off earlier investors and for their own personal expenses
Five men, including Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein, 48, of Lakewood, have been charged with defrauding more than 150 investors out of $35 million in a “Ponzi-like scheme,” according to an arrest complaint unsealed Wednesday in federal court in Trenton.
Weinstein, who is also known as Mike Konig, was previously convicted of defrauding investors out of $230 million and was serving a lengthy prison sentence until it was commuted by President Donald Trump in 2019.
After his release from prison in January 2021, Weinstein and the other four men formed a company called Optimus Investments Inc. and allegedly began “orchestrating another substantial scheme to defraud investors,” according to the complaint.
The complaint alleges that the men used false statements and misrepresentations to convince investors to invest in Optimus Investments Inc. and its related entities. They allegedly promised investors a return of up to 10% per month, but instead used the money to pay off earlier investors and for their own personal expenses.
Weinstein has a long history of fraud and has been described as having a “bad reputation.” He is now facing federal fraud charges for the second time in his career. If convicted, he and the other four men could face up to 20 years in prison.
Be First to Comment