Florida man gets 11 years for NY investment-fraud
Florida man charged in NY fraud case who lived large on investor money gets 11 years in prison
NEW YORK (AP) -- A mutual fund executive who promised investors early shares of Facebook and Groupon only to blow their money on pricey cars and jewelry has been sentenced in New York to 11 years in prison.
Judge Richard Sullivan announced the sentence for John Mattera on Friday in federal court in Manhattan. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., man was arrested in November 2011. He was accused of duping people who invested millions of dollars with his British Virgin Islands-based Praetorian Global Fund Limited.
Mattera had told investors he owned more than a million shares of Facebook Inc. and Groupon Inc. Prosecutors said he spent nearly $4 million on personal items for himself and his family. Those items included expensive jewelry, private jets, a boat and luxury cars.
