N.Y. Jewelry Wholesaler Guilty in $200 Million Ponzi Scam

A employee inspects a diamond.Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
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A New York jewelry wholesaler admitted he ran a $200 million Ponzi scheme, falsely telling investors he was using their money to buy jewelry at “closeout” prices and reselling it at markups of 30% to 70%.

Instead, prosecutors said, Gregory Altieri admitted on Wednesday that he used money from new investors to repay earlier investors.