A federal judge on Thursday sentenced an Oceanside man who pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of more than $3.3 million to 41 months in prison.
Prosecutors said John Quadrino, 57, told investors he would use their money to buy gold and jewelry that would then be sold to refiners and jewelers. Investors will then receive a guaranteed return on their investments.
Quadrino never bought the gold and jewelry, prosecutors said. Instead, he used the funds to perpetuate the Ponzi scheme for five years, pay himself and cover gambling debts.
“The defendant brazenly stole the money of hardworking men and women in our community for the sole purpose of enriching himself until his Ponzi scheme collapsed under the weight of his lies,” he said the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Breon Peace. “Today’s prison sentence punishes the defendant for the financial ruin he has inflicted on investors who had placed their trust in him.”
Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said Quadrino’s prison sentence ensures that the defendant will not be out to victimize people.
“Dozens of investors handed over their life savings to this defendant based on empty promises, and in the end, he personally spent and gambled away millions of dollars of their hard-earned money,” Donnelly said.
U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack ordered Quadrino to surrender to federal prison authorities by July 26.
Quadrino pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in April 2018.
Michael O’Keeffe covers the Suffolk County Police and other Long Island law enforcement agencies. He is an award-winning journalist and co-author of two books, “The Card” and “American Icon.”
