Nassau Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail For $26M Ponzi Scheme

A Syosset man among a trio charged with running a $26 million Ponzi scheme under the guise of a paving stone import company on Long Island was sentenced to over 10 years in jail on Friday, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

In 2012, Eric Aronson, along with West Islip resident Vincent Buonauro and Plainview resident Fredric Aaron, were charged with ripping off investors after promising a high return on the sale of eco-friendly paving stones imported from Australia under the paving stone company from 2006 to 2010.

In 2014, the 48-year-old founder and head of Permapave Industries LLC and Permapave USA Corporation (Permapave), pleaded guilty to securities fraud for orchestrating the multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme which defrauded over 200 investors, prosecutors said.

The trio told investors they would use the proceeds to finance shipments of Permapave paving stones from Australia to the U.S. when in reality, they operated a Ponzi scheme where some investors were paid returns on their investment from the funds Aronson obtained from other defrauded investors, prosecutors said.

Aronson converted millions of dollars of investor funds for personal use, including vacations, watches, jewelry, and automobiles.

He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Arthur D. Spatt, who gave him a sentence that was over five years less than the maximum.