Nassau Man Sentenced For Running Ponzi Scheme: Prosecutors

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — An Oceanside man was sentenced on Thursday to more than three years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme.

John Quadrino was also ordered to over $3.3 million in restitution, federal prosecutors announced.

Quadrino directed the scheme with Princess Cut Industries, Inc., Sassy Jewelry Buyers, Inc. and Golden Glitter Trading, Inc. (collectively known as the "Gold Purchasing Companies"). He told investors that their money would be invested in the sale of gold, jewelry and diamonds via the Gold Purchasing Companies. But Quadrino never invested their money, Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District, said.

Quadrino, in 2018, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud.

"The defendant blatantly stole the money of hard-working men and women in our community for the sole purpose of enriching himself until his Ponzi scheme collapsed under the weight of his lies," Peace said. "Today’s prison sentence punishes the defendant for the financial ruin he has inflicted on investors who had trusted him."

Over the course of five years, Quadrino systemically engaged in a classic Ponzi scheme over a five-year period, returning investor principal and interest from the investor capital of over victims, the US Attorney's office said.

As a result, investors invested more than $13 million with Gold Purchasing Companies and suffered losses of more than $3 million.

"Dozens of investors handed over their savings to this defendant based on empty promises, and in the end, he personally spent and gambled away millions of dollars of their hard-earned money," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.