NEWARK, N.J. — A Union City man who posed as a financial professional and took about $1.1 million from victims, including elderly people, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey said Friday.
Antonio Petrosino, also known as Anthony Petrosino, 61, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced. Petrosino pleaded guilty March 25 to one count of wire fraud.
From January 2016 through November 2024, Petrosino persuaded victims to hand over investment money, mortgage payments and other funds, prosecutors said. He presented himself as a financial services professional and falsely promised to put the money into brokerage accounts and other investments or otherwise use it for the victims’ benefit.
He gave one elderly victim fake investment statements showing hundreds of thousands of dollars in accounts in her name, according to prosecutors. Instead, he spent the money on personal expenses, including gambling, credit card bills and rent on a luxury apartment.
When victims asked questions, Petrosino offered false reassurances to hide the fraud, prosecutors said.
In addition to the prison term, Chesler sentenced Petrosino to two years of supervised release and ordered forfeiture and restitution to the victims totaling $1,130,406.63.
The FBI’s Newark office, the Office of Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Wyckoff Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Kozar and Sean Nadel prosecuted it.
This report is based on information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office press release
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