‘BRAZEN’

Fraudster Freed by Trump Charged With Fraud

Eliyahu Weinstein was previously convicted of cheating investors out of around $230 million.

A twice-convicted fraudster whose sentence was commuted by Donald Trump has yet again been charged with fraud, federal prosecutors in New Jersey said Wednesday. Eliyahu Weinstein, 49, has been accused along with four others of defrauding investors out of $35 million and could now face up to 25 years in prison on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Weinstein allegedly used a false name and lured people into lucrative deals involving baby formula and first-aid kits supposedly due to be sent to Ukraine. “These were brazen and sophisticated crimes that involved multiple conspirators and drew right from Weinstein’s playbook of fraud,” said Philip Sellinger, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. The day before leaving office, in January 2021, Trump commuted Weinstein’s previous 24-year sentence to time served after less than eight years behind bars.