TRENTON — Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein, a Lakewood resident once freed from a 24-year sentence through a presidential commutation, is headed back to federal prison — this time for 37 years — after being convicted in another sweeping investment fraud scheme that cost victims more than $44 million.
Weinstein, 51, was sentenced Nov. 14 in Trenton federal court, where U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp also ordered him to pay more than $44.2 million in restitution. His co-defendant, Aryeh “Ari” Bromberg, 51, also of Lakewood, received a 12-year sentence.
Federal prosecutors said Weinstein — already twice convicted for earlier scams that drained more than $230 million from investors — launched a new scheme shortly after his 2021 release, which came when President Donald Trump commuted his previous prison term on his final full day in office.
Using the alias “Mike Konig,” Weinstein and his partners pitched investors on high-return deals tied to COVID-19 protective equipment, baby formula and humanitarian supplies supposedly destined for Ukraine. Prosecutors said he hid his identity because he admitted investors “wouldn’t give them a penny” if they knew who was really behind the operation.
When the investments produced no returns, the group began using new investor money to pay earlier investors in a Ponzi-like pattern, according to court filings. In a secretly recorded 2022 meeting in which he revealed his identity, Weinstein was heard acknowledging, “I finagled and Ponzied and lied to people to cover us.”
After a six-week trial earlier this year, a jury convicted Weinstein on 15 counts, including securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and making false statements to the U.S. Probation Office. Bromberg was convicted on 10 counts. Five other co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
Weinstein’s criminal record stretches back nearly two decades, with his earlier federal cases centered on real-estate investment schemes based in Lakewood and elsewhere. He served less than eight years of his prior 24-year sentence before the commutation.
Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced the latest sentences, calling the losses to investors “staggering” and noting that Weinstein continued to commit fraud even after two earlier convictions.
Weinstein and Bromberg are due to begin serving their new sentences immediately.
