A banned New Jersey broker was charged Wednesday with defrauding 10 investors out of at least $1 million, federal prosecutors said.
Anthony Mastroianni Jr., 48, of Manalapan, has been charged with three counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office in Newark.
In 2016, Mastroianni consented to being permanently banned by the Financial Sector Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which prohibited it from acting as a broker or intermediary in securities transactions, the office said.
He was banned after refusing to appear to testify to address allegations of, among other things, excessive trading in an elderly client’s account, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in a statement.
Despite his exclusion, from January 2017 to August 2022 he allegedly took money from investors, many of whom were elderly, claiming he would generate significant investment profits for them through his company, Global Business Development & Consulting Corp., the office said.
Instead of investing the money as he said he would, Mastroianni used the funds for personal expenses, including rent, car payments, credit card bills and cash withdrawals. investigators said.
In addition to the investment program, he also submitted a fraudulent application for $96,300 for a federal COVID-19 emergency relief loan known as the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security), the office said. The loans are for small businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic.
Once he received the funds, he used the proceeds to make personal purchases and cash withdrawals, officials said.
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Chris Sheldon can be reached at [email protected].