Martin A. Armstrong headed Princeton Economics International in the 1990s
By: Lauren Otis
Martin A. Armstrong, who in the 1990s headed Princeton Economics International in West Windsor, which was subsequently revealed to be a $3 billion Ponzi scheme, was sentenced to 60 months in prison after pleading guilty last August to charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud. Mr. Armstrong was also ordered to pay restitution of $80 million.
Mr. Armstrong, 56, had business offices in West Windsor’s Carnegie Center, once ran a gold, silver and currency exchange in the Quaker Bridge Mall, and was a co-owner of an art gallery in Robbinsville.
According to Michael J. Garcia, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which prosecuted Mr. Armstrong, from 1992 through 1999 Mr. Armstrong fraudulently induced approximately 139 victims primarily corporate investors, many from Japan to purchase more than $3 billion in "Princeton Notes." Early investors were paid with funds contributed by later investors, as is typical of Ponzi schemes, with investors losing in excess of $700 million by the time the scheme collapsed, a release from the U.S. Attorney stated.
In 2002, Republic Securities, a broker-dealer Mr. Armstrong used to carry out his scheme, plead guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud charges in connection with its participation in the Princeton Note scheme. Republic Securities paid approximately $569 million in restitution to victims. In 2004, three of Mr. Armstrong’s co-conspirators, including two former employees of Republic Securities, William Rogers, Maria Toczlowski, and a former employee of Mr. Armstrong, Harold Ludwig, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy, securities fraud and commodities fraud charges.
Mr. Armstrong has been in jail since 2000 for refusing to disclose and turn over assets in connection with a related proceeding brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan, in imposing the 60 month sentence, the maximum allowed under the statute to which Mr. Armstrong plead guilty, ordered it to commence only after his incarceration on the civil contempt charge has been resolved.

