Eliyahu Weinstein Trial Set For Next Year

Eliyahu Weinstein of Lakewood has been charged in a 45-count indictment accusing him of wire fraud and money laundering.

The Lakewood man charged with masterminding a $200 million Ponzi scheme is scheduled to stand trial next year, more than two years after he was arrested.

Eliyahu Weinstein, 36, is charged with 45 counts of wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. The real estate developer is facing more than 800 years in prison and $11 million in fines if convicted on all the charges.

U.S. District Court Judge Joel A. Pisano, sitting in Trenton, set Weinstein’s trial date as Jan. 7, 2013, during a one-hour hearing on Jan. 17.

During the hearing, Pisano also relaxed Weinstein’s house arrest terms. The former rabbinical student and used car salesman will be allowed to leave his home between the hours of 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., but he must still wear his monitoring bracelet, the judge ruled.

Prior to this ruling, Weinstein could only leave his house to meet with his attorney, for medical visits and for religious purposes.

All other conditions of his release — including staying within state boundaries, having no contact with potential witnesses and having all non-household financial transactions worth more than $1,000 approved by a special counsel — remain in effect.

Weinstein has been free on $10 million bail since late August 2010.

Pretrial motions are due in mid-August, with a pretrial hearing set for Oct. 29, according to the judge’s ruling.

Weinstein was arrested on Aug. 12, 2010, on charges that he swindled investors in his various real estate deals out of more than $200 million.

Authorities say Weinstein and a co-conspirator —Vladimir Siforov, formerly of Manalapan — worked with others from 2004 through 2011 to lie to investors and fabricate documents to further the scheme.

Rather than pay investors profits, or reinvest their profits in new ventures, as Weinstein promised, authorities say, Weinstein used the millions he was given to pay off attorneys and credit card bills and buy millions of dollars worth of artwork, among other things.

Weinstein also used the money to buy “a multimillion-dollar collection of jewelry and watches,” and for gambling in Las Vegas and elsewhere, according to the indictment.

In total, Weinstein is charged with 29 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering, two counts of wire fraud while out on bail and one count each of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Siforov remains at large, U.S. Attorney spokeswoman Rebekah Carmichael said this week.

She said the government argued against the relaxation of Weinstein’s house arrest, contending that he “committed crimes before while on pretrial release and should not be rewarded.”

U.S. attorneys were in court in October, asking that Weinstein’s bail be revoked because, they charged, he had continued to swindle people out of money and had committed other violations of his bail.

An agreement was reached setting the terms in effect until the Jan. 17 hearing, and the motion was dropped.