A New York federal judge has sentenced John Quadrino of Oceanside. N.Y., to 41 months in prison for running a Ponzi scheme involving companies that purportedly sold used jewelry and gold. Quadrino was also required to pay $3.3 million in restitution to his victims.
Quadrino had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud in 2018. Sentencing was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a press release about the sentencing from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Quadrino told investors that his three companies—Princess Cut Industries, Sassy Jewelry Buyers, and Golden Glitter Trading—would buy jewelry and gold and then resell them to refineries and jewelers.
Investors were promised a “guaranteed, fixed rate of return at the end of the agreed upon time period,” said the Justice Department press release.
However, “Quadrino never actually purchased gold, jewelry, or diamonds in any significant quantities. Instead, Quadrino systematically engaged in a classic Ponzi scheme, over the course of five years, returning investor principal and interest from the investor capital of other victims,” said the release. He also used “investor capital to issue checks to himself and to pay for his personal gambling expenses,” it said.
All in all, Quadrino raised $13.1 million from a variety of local investors, who eventually lost a total of $3.3 million, the government charged.
According to Newsday, Quadrino apologized in court to his victims, some of whom were old family friends who testified against him. He said he’d intended to establish a legitimate business, but early mistakes were compounded by later ones.
Defense attorney Robert LaRusso asked for home confinement, saying his client suffers from a serious medical condition and won’t get the medical attention he needs in prison, the newspaper reported. LaRusso said in court that Quadrino “has changed his life. This will not happen again.”
The attorney could not be reached for further comment.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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