A Pennsylvania man who admitted his role in a $17.6 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded 263 investors has been sentenced to more than 33 years in prison by a federal judge.
Robert Stinson Jr., 56, of Berwyn, Pa. pleaded guilty last year to 26 charges, including wire and mail fraud, money laundering and bank fraud, according to U.S. Justice Department officials. Judge Michael M. Baylson of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Tuesday sentenced Stinson to 33 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, court documents said.
The judge also ordered him to pay more than $14 million in restitution. Stinson pleaded guilty in August to five counts of wire fraud, four counts of mail fraud, nine counts of money laundering, one count of bank fraud, and three counts of filing false statements. Authorities said he defrauded at least 263 investors out of more than $17 million.
Stinson ran a company called Life's Good Inc. that solicited investments in one of four real estate hedge funds, promising returns of as much as 16 percent, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's office in Philadelphia. However, federal officials allege that Stinson stole investor funds for his personal use, including the purchase of two Mercedes-Benz sedans, and that he falsely told investors he was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Stinson also transferred portions of the money to family members and others, and used new investor proceeds to pay existing investors as part of a Ponzi scheme.
Federal prosecutors said they have only been able to recover $580,000 of the money that was stolen by Stinson.
-Jim McConville