Jeweler Gets 4 Years in Prison for $3.6 Million Fraud Scheme |
PROVIDENCE RI AP A Connecticut man has been sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay more than 36 million in restitution for operating a long-running scheme involving fake invoices through clones of Groupon and Zulily websites The US attorneys office in Rhode Island says 52-year-old Gerald Kent of Groton Connecticut must also serve three years probation Kent pleaded guilty in December to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft He said he ran the scheme through his jewelry wholesale business Kent Jewelry based in Johnston Rhode Island The scheme involved selling fraudulent invoices to a firm that buys unpaid bills at a discount for cash He also created fraudulent clones of Groupon and Zulily websites Prosecutors previously said Kent is a prolific gambler and gambled 43 million during his life