Big-time NJ scammer who was pardoned by Trump goes back to prison again

💰 Twice-convicted NJ fraudster “Eli” Weinstein is sentenced to 37 years for a new $44M Ponzi-style scam.
🕵️‍♂️ Prosecutors say Weinstein, using an alias, secretly ran new investment schemes.
⚖️ Weinstein had his last sentence commuted by President Trump in 2021.

A New Jersey man already convicted twice of scamming investors out of more than $230 million is now headed back to federal prison for another Ponzi-like fraud scheme.

Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein, of Lakewood, had his last term commuted by President Donald Trump in January 2021 to time served.

On Friday, Nov. 14, Weinstein was sentenced to 37 years in prison for the more recent scheme that cost investors more than $44 million.

The 50-year-old Weinstein — who used the alias “Mike Konig” — was convicted alongside 51-year-old Aryeh “Ari” Bromberg of multiple counts, including wire fraud and securities fraud.

NJ conspirators convicted in $44M investment scam

Both were found guilty after a six-week jury trial in Trenton federal court.

Bromberg was separately sentenced to 12 years in prison, Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba said.

They have also been ordered to pay back the more than $44 million stolen from their victims.

Five more conspirators — Christopher Anderson, Richard Curry, Shlomo Erez, Alaa Hattab, and Joel Wittels — previously pleaded guilty to charges from the same scheme and were all awaiting sentencing.

Read More: Convicted NJ scammer Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein faces 3rd fraud case 

Decades of deception: Weinstein’s long fraud history in Ocean County

Weinstein’s first case involved a $200 million real estate Ponzi scheme. He was arrested in 2010 for actions that began in 2004.

Prosecutors said he used forged documents and fake deeds to get investors to give him millions, with the promise of hefty returns.

While on pretrial release for that first charge, Weinstein carried out another multi-million-dollar investment fraud, for which he was charged again in 2013.

He was sentenced to 24 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Many victims of his first scams were members of Weinstein's own Orthodox Jewish community.

Among those who lost money — some wrote letters of support before Weinstein's sentence was commuted by Trump on Jan. 19, 2021.

He thanked them for doing so in a video previously shared by the Lakewood Scoop in January 2021.

“My goal is to make everybody proud of me and to lead my life in the proper fashion," Weinstein said in the video.

'Weinstein picked up right where he left off’ ripping off investors, feds say

Soon after being released from prison, Weinstein began a new scheme using a fake name, to sway investors to fund ventures through Optimus Investments.

Weinstein secretly ran Optimus through Bromberg and Wittels.

They kept his real identity hidden because, as Weinstein admitted in a secretly recorded conversation, investors wouldn’t give them “a penny” if they learned of Weinstein’s involvement.

“Weinstein picked up right where he left off: stealing millions of dollars from investors through a web of lies and deceit,” then-U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said following Weinstein’s 2023 arrest.

The trio received the bulk of investor money through a second company, Tryon Management Group, which was owned and controlled by two other people.

Tryon promised its investors – mostly the defendants’ friends and family – lucrative opportunities to invest in deals involving COVID-19 masks, scarce baby formula and first-aid kits supposedly bound for Ukraine after being invaded by Russia.

The deals quickly spiraled out of control into Ponzi-like chaos, according to prosecutors.

By August 2022, Weinstein revealed his actual identity to Tryon owners, admitting in another secretly recorded meeting, “I am Eli Weinstein.”

“I finagled, and Ponzied, and lied to people to cover us,”Weinstein admitted in another recorded meeting that same month.

Another commutation possible — but no guarantees

There are no restrictions on Weinstein potentially receiving another presidential commutation if he applies to have his term shortened once he begins to serve it.

To begin the commutation process, a federal inmate must submit an application to the Office of the Pardon Attorney for consideration.

The Pardon Attorney reviews applications and submits candidates to the President for consideration.

If granted, an order of commutation would be filed in the U.S. District Court, commuting the defendant’s sentence.

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