A former Shelby Township man already serving seven years in prison for stealing from a Clinton Township company was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison for operating a $4 million Ponzi scheme, according to federal officials.
Gina Accettola, 55, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Laurie Michelson in Detroit after pleading guilty last April to wire fraud charges for operating the scheme from 2014-16 in which he promised “abnormally high short-term returns” to 17 investors. He also was ordered to pay $4.2 million in restitution.
“Today’s sentencing should send a clear message that we will hold accountable all those who take advantage of others for personal gain,” U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison said in a news release.
In a separate case, in August 2018 Accettola was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading no contest to embezzlement over $100,000 in Macomb County Circuit Court for stealing about $150,000 from Interlink Payment Systems, a Clinton Township company owned by a friend.
Accettola in 2017 was ordered to pay $12 million to 11 plaintiffs in default judgments of a civil lawsuit in which he was accused of stealing $3.8 million. Accettola represented to his victims that their funds were investments for construction projects didn’t exist.
Accettola lost approximately $1.5 million gambling at MGM Grand Detroit casino, most of it in 2014 and 2015, and lived a lavish lifestyle, according to a lawsuit.
