Short Hills Swindler Admits $675K Ponzi Scheme

NEWARK, N.J. – Mark Moskowitz, 48, of Short Hills, New Jersey, isn’t the financial wizard he claimed to be. The investment manager today admitted to running a classic Ponzi scheme, fleecing investors out of more than $675,000 and lining his own pockets. Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced the guilty plea, a small victory for victims left holding the bag.

Moskowitz pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to one count of wire fraud. The scheme, operating under the names Edge Trading Partners L.P. and Edge Trading LLC, was built on lies and concealment. For years, Moskowitz allegedly told investors their funds were growing, even as he siphoned off cash for personal expenses. He masked losses and kept the scheme afloat with fresh investments, the hallmark of a Ponzi operation.

The New Jersey Bureau of Securities isn’t letting Moskowitz off easy either. In a separate action, they’ve ordered him and Edge Trading LLC to pay a $1 million civil penalty for selling unregistered, fraudulent securities and the misuse of investor funds. It’s a double blow for the con man, but hardly makes investors whole.

Court documents reveal the scheme began around 2012. Moskowitz pitched Edge Trading as a diversified fund invested in U.S. and foreign equities, futures, and options. He boasted about positive returns, attracting more money from eager investors. In reality, the fund was a ghost, and the returns were fabricated. Moskowitz was simply shuffling money around, paying earlier investors with funds from new ones – a tactic that inevitably collapses.

The wire fraud charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Moskowitz is scheduled to be sentenced on July 5, 2017. Whether that’s enough to deter others from similar scams remains to be seen. The FBI, under Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher, led the investigation, with crucial assistance from the N.J. Bureau of Securities, headed by Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino and Acting Bureau Chief Amy Kopleton.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason S. Gould is prosecuting the case. Moskowitz was represented by David Holman Esq., of the Assistant Federal Public Defenders office in Newark. This case serves as a grim reminder: if something sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is. Investors should always exercise extreme caution and thoroughly vet any investment opportunity before handing over their hard-earned cash.