Architect of $94 million Ponzi scheme sentenced to 20 years in prison
Andrew Jacobus defrauded Venezuelan nationals, Catholic dioceses, and the elderly in a long-running fraud.
A former Florida investment advisor who orchestrated a $94 million Ponzi scheme that targeted Venezuelan nationals, Catholic dioceses, and the elderly has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Andrew Jacobus, 64, was taken into custody at the end of his sentencing hearing, his lawyer confirms.
Prosecutors said that Jacobus ran his scheme from 2004 to 2023 through entities he controlled, including the holding company Kronus Financial Corporation and Finser International Corporation, a registered investment advisory firm. In November, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering.
One of Jacobus’ lawyers, Bruce Lehr of the law firm Lehr Levi & Mendez, declined to say what he was hoping for in a sentence but noted that with federal sentencing guidelines pegged to the amount of money the victims lost, he was expecting that his client would receive a lengthy prison sentence. “I saw the inevitable writing on the wall based upon the amount of loss," Lehr says.
Judge Jacqueline Becerra of Florida’s Southern District sentenced Jacobus to 20 years for the wire-fraud charge and 15 years for the money-laundering count, but ruled that those sentences would be served concurrently.
More than 100 victims attended the sentencing hearing or viewed it via Zoom, according to a Miami Herald report, which noted that about two dozen Venezuelans in the courtroom rose in applause as Jacobus was handcuffed and taken into custody.
Lehr says his client is deeply remorseful about his crimes. “I have done many, many Ponzi scheme defenses and white-collar defenses and his allocution [a statement made to the judge] showed tremendous remorse and apologies, maybe the most I’ve seen in my career," he says.
Jacobus had opened a currency exchange in Venezuela in 2001 and would later recruit customers from that business when he launched a registered investment advisory firm in 2010. He described himself as an experienced advisor promising to invest clients’ money in various securities, including businesses that were preparing to go public.
Jacobus told investors he could net them annual returns of between 12% and 15%, though in reality he had no intention of investing most of their money as he promised, prosecutors said.
It is an open question whether investors will be able to recoup their money, beyond what some received in the form of Ponzi-like repayments that were funded by later investors in the scheme. A civil case against Jacobus brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission has been stayed pending the outcome of the criminal matter. Judge Becerra scheduled a restitution hearing for May 26.
topics
