MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Federal authorities in Minnesota say the ringleader of a $150 million investment fraud scheme that targeted victims worldwide has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Fifty-seven-year-old Antonio Buzaneli, of Coral Gables, Florida, pleaded guilty in April 2018 to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Investigators say many of his victims were elderly and vulnerable and some of them lost their retirement savings.
The case wound up in Minnesota after the state’s Commerce Fraud Bureau began investigating after receiving a tip about a suspicious investment opportunity being offered to residents.
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Court documents show that Buzaneli’s company claimed investors could make a 48 percent annual return on money invested in Brazil.
Buzaneli was ordered to pay back more than $51 million to victims. Two other co-conspirators have been convicted in the case.
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