Securities News

Former Currency Trader Sentenced To 5 More Years For $3 Billion Ponzi Scheme

MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MARTIN A. ARMSTRONG, a former currency trader and former head of Princeton Economics International, was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 60 months in prison on his conviction for conspiracy to commit securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud, stemming from his $3 Billion "Ponzi" scheme involving securities known as "Princeton Notes." United States District Judge JOHN F. KEENAN, who imposed the sentence, also ordered ARMSTRONG to pay restitution in the amount of $80 million. According to the Superseding Indictment filed against ARMSTRONG (the "Indictment") in 2004:

During the course of the scheme, from 1992 through 1999, approximately 139 victims -- primarily corporate investors -- were fraudulently induced to purchase more than $3 billion in so-called "Princeton Notes," or certain securities purportedly issued by a holding company called Princeton Global Management, Ltd. As is typical in "Ponzi" schemes, earlier investors were repaid through funds contributed by later investors and, by the time the scheme collapsed, investors had suffered losses in excess of $700 million. The fraudulent conduct included: (1) making numerous fraudulent representations concerning the value of assets in accounts that ARMSTRONG controlled; (2) fraudulent misrepresentations of ARMSTRONG’s trading performance; and (3) wrongful commingling of investor funds. Read more at newyork.fbi.gov.

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	Did You Know?
	Swap: In general, the exchange of one asset or liability for a similar asset or liability Swap: In general, the exchange of one asset or liability for a similar asset or liability for the purpose of lengthening or shortening maturities, or raising or lowering coupon rates, to maximize revenue or minimize financing costs. This may entail selling one securities issue and buying another in foreign currency; it may entail buying a currency on the spot market and simultaneously selling it forward. Swaps also may involve exchanging income flows; for example, exchanging the fixed rate coupon stream of a bond for a variable rate payment stream, or vice versa, while not swapping the principal component of the bond. Swaps are generally traded over-the-counter.