Broker Who Ran $66 Million Ponzi Scheme Gets Probation

A New York man received 5 years probation for a Ponzi Scheme involving $66 million that his investors thought was invested in the foreign-exchange market, where the money was spent on art and an Aston Martin.

Bradley Eisner was sentenced in Brooklyn, New York. He pleaded guilty in July 2008 after turning himself in and cooperating with the government.

Michael R. MacCaull, Eisner’s partner, was sentenced in March to 15 years and eight months. His much stiffer sentence is attributable to the fact he previously served a sentence in federal prison for a boiler-room operation.

Eisner and MacCaull, both 38, pretended to be investing in the spot foreign exchange market while they retained most investor funds for their own use. The Ponzi scheme operated from January 2001 to January 2008.

Eisner took $10 million and Eisner lost about $1 million gambling. As part of his sentence, he’s not allowed to gamble or visit places with casinos such as Las Vegas or Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Both men were depositing investors’ money in a bank account from which they paid their living expenses. To conceal their scheme, they created fictitious account statements and returned tens of millions of dollars to investors with money from new investors.

In sum, it appears that Eisner’s sentence was especially light because he turned himself in before the Government had the Ponzi Scheme on its radar.