



Architect of $94 million Ponzi scheme sentenced to 20 years in prison
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A former Florida investment advisor who orchestrated a $94 million Ponzi scheme that targeted Venezuelan nationals, Catholic dioceses, and the elderly has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Andrew Jacobus, 64, was taken into custody at the end of his sentencing hearing, his lawyer confirms.
Prosecutors said that Jacobus ran his scheme from 2004 to 2023 through entities he controlled, including the holding company Kronus Financial Corporation and Finser International Corporation, a registered investment advisory firm. In November, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. One of Jacobus’ lawyers, Bruce Lehr of the law firm Lehr Levi & Mendez, declined to say what he was hoping for in a sentence but noted that with federal sentencing guidelines pegged to the amount of money the victims lost, he was expecting that his client would receive a lengthy prison sentence.
“I saw the inevitable writing on the wall based upon the amount of loss," Lehr says. Judge Jacqueline Becerra of Florida’s Southern District sentenced Jacobus to 20 years for the wire-fraud charge and 15 years for the money-laundering count, but ruled that those sentences would be served concurrently. More than 100 victims attended the sentencing hearing or viewed it via Zoom, according to a Miami Herald report, which noted that about two dozen Venezuelans in the courtroom rose in applause as Jacobus was handcuffed and taken into custody.
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