New Jersey Man Sentenced to 63 Months for Stealing more than $1 Million in Investment Fraud Scheme Involving Elderly Victims

NEWARK, NJ. - A New Jersey man was sentenced yesterday to 63 months' imprisonment for defrauding elderly and other victims out of more than $1 million that he falsely told the victims he would invest on their behalf or otherwise use for their benefit, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.

Antonio Petrosino, a/k/a Anthony Petrosino, 61, of Union City, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler on March 25, 2026 to Count One of an Indictment charging him with wire fraud.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

From January 2016 through November 2024, Petrosino fraudulently induced the victims to transfer investment funds, mortgage payments, and other money to Petrosino. As part of the scheme, Petrosino held himself out to be a financial services professional and falsely led his victims to believe that he would invest their money in brokerage accounts and other investment products or otherwise use it for their benefit. To perpetuate his fraud, Petrosino provided one elderly victim with falsified investment statements that purported to show that she had hundreds of thousands of dollars deposited in various investment accounts in her name. Petrosino also made various statements to victims assuring them that their money had been invested or used as promised.

In reality, Petrosino failed to invest the victims' funds or otherwise use victim monies for the victims' benefit. Instead, Petrosino misappropriated the money to pay his personal expenses, including gambling, credit card payments, and rent on his luxury apartment unit. When confronted by victims about the status of the money they sent to Petrosino, he provided the victims and their family members false reassurances about the status of the victims' funds to cover up the fraud. In total, Petrosino stole approximately $1.1 million from the victims.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler ordered Petrosino to pay forfeiture and restitution to the victims of his scheme, in the total amount of $1,130,406.63, and sentenced Petrosino to two years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark; special agents of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Tucker; and the Wyckoff Police Department, under the direction of Chief David V. Murphy, with the investigation leading to Petrosino's indictment.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Kozar and Sean Nadel of the Criminal Division in Newark.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

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Defense counsel: Maggie Moy, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender