Gregory Altieri, 53, a New York businessman reportedly lured investors with returns of up to 70 % within five months, bought jewelry at closeout prices during the two-year scheme.
He allegedly promised investors huge returns from wholesale jewelry deals and has been charged with running a $200m Ponzi scheme.
In January Altieri's jewelry company LNA Associates, issued $74m of cheques that bounced. The businessman provided investors with ‘jewelry lot sheets’ with false information of purchases made on their behalf, but some of the money was actually used to pay earlier investors.
About 80 investors including police officers, firefighters or first responders from Long Island, Queens, and Staten Island, who jointly invested up $85m, filed a petition in May forcing him and the business into an involuntary bankruptcy. Altieri has pleaded not guilty on count of wire fraud at federal District Court in Brooklyn, and was released on a $750,000 bond.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished
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