After Lloyd Smith lost his life savings in former Wayne County securities broker Eric Bartoli’s investment scheme, he remembers going to the grocery store with his wife.
Between the two of them, they had $20.
The Louisville couple bought the cheapest coffee they could find, rather than the name brand they favored.
“Ever been to the grocery store with $20 when you are used to $100 to $150?” Smith asked Wednesday during Bartoli’s sentencing in U.S. District Court in Akron.
Smith, who lost $680,000 and was forced to return to work, was among seven of Bartoli’s victims who spoke during Bartoli’s lengthy and emotional sentencing. Another 10 attended but didn’t speak.
After listening to their testimony, U.S. District Court Judge John Adams sentenced Bartoli to 20 years in federal prison for bilking hundreds of investors out of more than $42 million. This was double the prison terms suggested in his plea agreement.
Adams called what Bartoli did “reprehensible” and suggested that, if Bartoli appeals, the court read the more than 70 letters he received from his victims.
Bartoli, 62, fled the country after being charged for a massive Ponzi scheme that involved the sale of certificates of deposit and unregistered mutual funds, raising more than $65 million from an estimated 800 investors. He settled in Peru, where federal prosecutors say he worked as an investment adviser using three aliases. He was eventually arrested and extradited.
Bartoli pleaded guilty in July to eight counts, including conspiracy, securities fraud, sale of unregistered securities, wire fraud, mail fraud and attempted income tax evasion. Federal prosecutors dropped other charges. His agreement suggested a sentence of up to 10 years.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Georgalis called Bartoli’s case one of the “largest and most destructive fraud schemes” in the history of the Northern Court District.
“It was like a nuclear bomb was set off in rural Ohio,” Georgalis said. “It was fueled not by fire, but by his own greed.”
Barry Ward, Bartoli’s attorney, argued for leniency for his client, noting that he pleaded guilty early in his case, which meant the victims avoided a trial and prosecutors didn’t have to try a case that involved investments made 20 years ago. He urged Adams to give Bartoli credit for the nearly three years he spent in prison in Peru.
Bartoli, dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, spoke for the first time publicly since his arrest, reading from a typed statement. He began by apologizing to his family and his clients.
Interrupting, Adams said: “You mean ‘to your victims.’ Not clients.”
Bartoli then continued, saying he knew he shouldn’t have done what he did. He said his world was shaped by misguided expectations, with his focus on getting more money.
Bartoli said he has reflected on what he did while in prison and doesn’t want Cyprus to be his legacy. He said his mother got sick with terminal cancer while he was incarcerated and asked for him, but he wasn’t able to go to her.
“That’s a hell of a price to pay for money,” he said. “I now realize what’s important — and it’s not money.”
Seven of the victims or their descendants — several died while Bartoli was at large — shared their stories at the sentencing, detailing the toll investing with Bartoli took on them financially, physically and mentally, including losing homes, struggling to pay medical bills and dying penniless. Several cried as they spoke and as they listened to other victims. All urged Adams to impose a lengthy sentence.
“For you to get eight to 10 years is a joke — and not justice by any means,” said Denise Bossoni, whose father lost $100,000.
Adams agreed that 10 years wasn’t enough. He said Bartoli continued his schemes after he fled to Peru, though he was never prosecuted there.
“You’re a person who will not stop this behavior unless you are incarcerated for a serious amount of time,” the judge said.
Adams said it will be up to the Federal Bureau of Prisons whether Bartoli should receive credit for the time he was imprisoned in Peru. He ordered Bartoli to pay $42,499,302.82 in restitution, but warned the victims that they likely won’t get it.
After the sentencing, Ward said he will talk to Bartoli to find out if he wants to appeal.
Bartoli’s victims seemed satisfied with the sentence. Nancy Lyons-Miller said the wish of her dying mother, who lost her savings, was that Bartoli see justice.
“I think today she can rest in peace,” she said.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705, swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com or on Twitter: @swarsmithabj .