Rockville Centre man pleads guilty in Ponzi scheme case

A Rockville Centre man on Friday pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan to commodities fraud charges for operating his investment company as a Ponzi scheme, misrepresenting financial results to investors and misappropriating their funds for personal uses.

Michael Wright, 30, faces up to 10 years in prison for operating his Wright Time Capital Group as what prosecutors called his “personal piggy bank,” allegedly raising $400,000 from investors for foreign exchange trades that he used for hotel and travel and to pay back other victims.

When Wright was charged in June, the government also alleged that he had attracted victims by claiming he was making double-digit gains through foreign exchange trading, but in reality earned “little to no money” from his trading.

Wright’s lawyer did not return a call for comment. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer scheduled Wright’s sentencing for Jan. 25.