Former Woodbridge Group CEO Gets 25 Years in $1.3 Billion Fraud

Woodbridge Group of Companies’ former Chief Executive Officer Robert Shapiro received the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for running a $1.3 billion fraud that caused more than 7,000 retirees and other investors to lose money.

Shapiro, 61, of Sherman Oaks, California, promised returns as high as 10% from investments in loans to property developers. Instead, he used money from new investors to repay earlier ones and used $36 million to buy luxury homes, wines, paintings and custom-designed jewelry for his wife.

U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga in Miami sentenced Shapiro Tuesday, giving him twice the amount of ...