The federal courthouse in Trenton.BERGEN COUNTY — A judge in Trenton is scheduled Monday to sentence a Hackensack commodity pool operator and day trader who led a pair of ploys to swindle investors and a financial institution out of $2 million and dodged $150,000 in tax payments.
Victor Eugene Cilli, 46, pleaded guilty in 2011 to securities fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and tax evasion, The Record reported in May.
Cilli conspired with 16 others to defraud KeyBank of Cleveland of more than $1.5 million in student loans between 2002 and 2006.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission also charged Cilli and his company, Progressive Investment Funds LLC, of Hackensack, with operating a commodity pool Ponzi scheme that swindled at least four investors of about $506,000, according to a National Futures Association case summary. The CFTC accused Cilli of pocketing $200,000 of pool funds for personal expenses like meals, entertainment, motorcycle payments and hair salon visits.
Cilli and his company lied to pool participants about his business and futures trading record, according to a June 2011 criminal complaint. Cilli said he was a successful manager and trader, never mentioning a $13.5 million bankruptcy in 2002 or his limited futures experience, the complaint said.
Judge Anne E. Thompson is scheduled to hand down a sentence at 11 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Trenton.
• CFTC: Former NJ Resident, Company Ordered To Pay $700,000 For Ponzi Scheme | The Wall Street Journal