NEW YORK: A former Wall Street trader was sentenced Monday to over five years in prison after admitting to defrauding investors of $19 million in a Ponzi scheme.
Paul Rinfret, 71, of Manhasset, New York, was sentenced Monday in Manhattan federal court.
The sentencing followed his October guilty plea to wire and securities fraud. U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods in Manhattan said Rinfret should spend five years and three months behind bars.
Prosecutors said he carried out the fraud from at least 2016 through 2019, investing only a small portion of the money he raised from six victims.
When he did invest, he lost money but falsified monthly account statements to make it seem as though his investors were enjoying excellent results, prosecutors said.
They said he used money from investors on a nearly $50,000 Hamptons vacation rental and spend over $40,000 on jewelry and tens of thousands…