TRENTON, NJ — A New Jersey Ponzi schemer, whose 24-year prison term for fraud convictions was commuted by PresidentDonald Trumpin 2021, is headed back behind bars for another multi-million-dollar fraud scheme.
Eliyahu "Eli" Weinstein, 51, was sentenced on Nov. 14 to 37 years in federal prison for falsely promising investors access to supplies bound for war-torn Ukraine, according to court documents. U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp imposed the sentence on Weinstein and ordered him to make $44,294,803 in restitution.
Weinstein, of Lakewood, New Jersey, stood trial earlier this year and was found guilty on March 31 of 15 of 17 counts in a federal indictment charging securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, making false statements to and concealing material facts from the United States Probation Office, obstruction of justice, and conspiracies to commit those crimes. He was acquitted of two obstruction charges.
President Donald Trump has issued numerous pardons including for some notable people and high-profile cases since returning to the White House for a second term in 2025." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Rudy GiulianiTrump pardoned his former personal attorney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who faced charges and investigations alleging interference in the 2020 election." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Darryl Strawberry Trump pardoned New York baseball legend and former "Celebrity Apprentice" cast member Darryl Strawberry, who was convicted of tax evasion and was among several people pardoned in November 2025." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Binance CEO Changpeng ZhaoPresident Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange. The company helped boost Trump's fortunes by promoting his family's own crypto product, a digital coin known as USD1." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
NBA YoungBoyTrump pardoned NBA YoungBoy, a Louisiana-born rapper, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden. He was serving a 23-month sentence for federal gun charges. Trump announced his pardon along with others, including former Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover, on May 28, a White House official confirmed to USA TODAY." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Julie Chrisley & Todd ChrisleyThe Chrisleys, who were depicted on a USA Network reality show as real estate tycoons in the South, were found guilty in June 2022 of conspiring to defraud community banks in Atlanta out of more than $36 million in fraudulent loans, defraud the IRS and commit tax evasion. Julie Chrisley was additionally convicted of obstruction of justice and wire fraud.
Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Julie Chrisley received a seven-year sentence. Their show ended when they began their respective sentences in January 2023.
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George SantosTrump commuted former Rep. George Santos' seven-year prison sentence, releasing him from jail on Oct. 17.
Santos, a 37-year-old Republican from New York, began a seven-year prison sentence for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. As part of his plea, he admitted to filing false campaign finance reports, charging donors' credit cards without authorization and fraudulently receiving unemployment benefits, among other acts that began years before he ran for Congress in 2022. Santos was also ordered to pay more than $370,000 in restitution to his victims, but he will no longer have to under the terms of the commutation posted on X by Ed Martin, the U.S. attorney.
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Michele FioreTrump pardoned Michele Fiore, a former Las Vegas City Councilwoman who was convicted of federal charity fraud after misusing donations for a planned police memorial. She had not been sentenced when she was pardoned." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Scott JenkinsTrump pardoned Scott Jenkins, a former Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery in what prosecutors called a "cash-for-badges scheme," preventing him from starting his 10-year prison sentence on May 27.
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Rod BlagojevichBlagojevich was sentenced in 2012 to 14 years in prison. He was released in 2020 after Trump commuted his sentence. Trump issued him a full pardon in 2025. The former governor, who was impeached and removed from office, appeared on Trump's television show "Celebrity Apprentice."" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Henry "Enrique" TarrioPresident Donald Trump pardoned Tarrio, who was serving a 22-year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy, along with more than 1,500 people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Stewart RhodesTrump commuted the 18-year sentence for Stewart Rhodes, the former head of the Oath Keepers militia, who was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.
" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />See Trump's second-term pardons from political allies to Jan. 6 rioters
President Donald Trumphas issued numerous pardons including for some notable people and high-profile cases since returning to the White House for a second term in 2025.
Before the case, Weinstein was twice convicted in federal court of defrauding investors out of a total $230 million, according to federal prosecutors. In 2014, he was sentenced to 22 years in prison for a $200 million real estate Ponzi scheme from 2004 to 2011. His prison term was extended by two years for committing additional fraud in 2014 while he was on pretrial release in the first case.
Trump commuted Weinstein's sentence on Jan. 19, 2021, the day before his first presidential term ended. As a result, Weinstein was released from prison after serving less than eight years.
'Didn't try to make his prior victims whole — he made more victims'
Soon after being released from prison, Weinstein embarked on a new scheme to solicit money by offering lucrative opportunities to invest in deals involving COVID-19 masks, scarce baby formula, and first-aid kits supposedly bound for war-torn Ukraine, prosecutors said.
Weinstein masked his true identity in the venture and instead used "Mike Konig" as an alias because, as he acknowledged in a secretly recorded conversation with co-conspirators, investors wouldn't give them "a penny'' if they knew of his involvement, according to documents and statements made in court.
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After investors weren't paid, the conspirators agreed to pool money from existing investors and use it to make payments to other investors in a Ponzi-like fashion, prosecutors said.
After revealing his true identity to conspirators in a secretly recorded meeting in August 2022, Weinstein admitted misappropriating investors' money and said, "I finagled and Ponzied and lied to people to cover us," according to court documents and statements made in court.
In 2024, Weinstein, along with his conspirator Arhey "Ari" Bromberg, 51, was indicted for the fraud scheme. At the time, prosecutors said three other alleged conspirators had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud. That same year, two others also pleaded guilty to conspiring with Weinstein, according to theU.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jerseyand theAsbury Park Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.
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"As alleged, soon after Weinstein got out of jail after receiving a Presidential commutation, he picked his Ponzi schemer's playbook back up and allegedly started ripping off victims again," former U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said in a statement following Weinstein's indictment. "Weinstein didn't try to make his prior victims whole — he made more victims."
Weinstein stood trial with Bromberg, who was convicted of 10 counts in the indictment. Shipp on Nov. 14 sentenced Bromberg to 12 years in prison.
Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press:New Jersey fraudster pardoned by Trump sentenced to 37 years in prison