Eddie Antar

Eddie was born on Dec 18, 1947, in New York. In 1973, he took over ERS electronics, and built a giant pyramid scheme called 'Crazy Eddie Electronics'.
 

Eddie's Cousin - Ronnie Gindi

ERS Electronics, the initial company, is owned by Sam M. Antar, his son Eddie Antar, and Eddie's cousin, Ronnie Gindi. 

 

Eddie's Cousin, Sam Antar

In 1983, Eddie brought in cousin Sammy, a CPA, and made him the financial officer. His job was to cover the skimming, and make the company profitable for the coming Public Offering. 
 

One of Sammy's major schemes was a money laundering operation later known as the Panama Pump — money that the Antars had deposited in Israeli banks was transferred to bank accounts in Panama. These accounts, opened under false names, then drafted payments to Crazy Eddie. This money was largely used to inflate same-store sales figures for the company.
 

1984 Eddie Goes Public

Despite the misgivings of people closely associated with Crazy Eddie, the company held its initial public offering on September 13, 1984 (symbol: CRZY). Shares of the company sold initially for $4. By early 1986, Crazy Eddie stock was trading at more than $75 per share.

In 1984, The Company Was Collapsing

The Antar family let the company tank, but sold $30 million in stock at the top. Rumors swirled about 'Short Sales' of stock, but were never proven.  In April of 1987, Eddie fired his father, Sam M. Antar. 
 

In 1987 Eddie Wants To Buy Back The Company

As Eddie tries another swindle, an Elias Zinn purchases $17.5 million of Crazy Eddie stock, and the whole scam unravels.

Eddie Stole $74 Million In Stock Alone

What was discovered was, that while most stockholders in the company had lost money since 1984, Eddie Antar had sold 6.5 million shares worth $74 million. A flurry of stockholder lawsuits was filed against the Antar family.
 
 

1990 -  Eddie Flees To Israel

Antar fled to Israel using a fake passport and the alias David Jacob Levi Cohen, and purchased a townhouse in the city of Yavne. After Eddie left the country, Sammy offered to testify for Federal prosecutors in exchange for immunity. He avoided jail time for his testimony, and was instead sentenced to six months of house arrest, 1,200 hours of community service, three years of probation, and was given more than $10,000 in fines.
 

In 1993 Eddie Gets A Break

Eddie is extradited, and found guilty on 17 counts of fraud. He is sentenced to 12 years in prison, but a Zionist judge overturned the sentence, and in February 1997, he was sentenced to eight years in prison.

He was ordered to pay $1.15 billion in fines and judgments, but hasn't paid anything.

 

Who Got Bilked?

The losers were every stockholder, bondholder, vendor, insurance company, etc. Efforts to recover additional money from the Antar family, on behalf of defrauded stockholders, continue to this day.

The Con

• The Antars skimmed an estimated $200 million over 20 years.
• The bankruptcy cost creditors $80 million.
• The banks were hit for $100 million.
• The stockholders were clipped for an estimated $180 million.