The U.S. government said Follieri claimed he was the chief financial officer of the Vatican - and showed at least one business contact a phony letter in Italian, purportedly written to him in 2002 by Pope John Paul II.
Prosecutors say he used several million dollars from investors to travel the world on private planes, enjoying expensive hotels and dinners and renting yachts. He spent $37,000 a month for a Manhattan condo.
