(IDEX Online) - A New York businessman who allegedly promised investors huge returns from wholesale jewelry deals has been charged with running a $200m Ponzi scheme.Gregory Altieri, 53, lured them with returns of up to 70 per cent within five months on cash used to buy jewelry at closeout prices during the two-year scheme, according to district court papers for the for the Eastern District of New York.He provided them with "jewelry lot sheets" detailing purchases made on their behalf, but much of that information was false and some of the money was actually used to pay earlier investors instead, say prosecutors.In January Altieri's jewelry company LNA Associates, issued $74m of checks that bounced, according to the court papers.Some of his 80 investors filed a petition in May forcing him and the business into an involuntary bankruptcy proceeding.Many were police officers, firefighters or first responders from Long Island, Queens, and Staten Island, who jointly invested up $85m.Altieri pleaded not guilty one count of wire fraud during a telephonic arraignment in federal District Court in Brooklyn (pictured) and was released on a $750,000 bond. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.