Mario E. Rivero Jr., 39, of Elizabeth, worked for an unidentified large brokerage firm and was entrusted to manage his clients’ funds, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Instead, between April 2018 through November 2020, he cooked up a scheme to defraud five of his clients and instead of investing $626,478 from them, he diverted the monies to himself and others, who were not identified, the office said. He used the money to fund his gambling and personal expenses, but was later caught and charged, investigators said.
Rivero pleaded guilty earlier this year to wire fraud and securities fraud and in addition to this prison term, a federal judge sentenced him to three years of supervised release, authorities said.