Phillip Bennett, the British former chief executive of Refco, reported to a New Jersey prison yesterday to begin a 16-year sentence for fraud after pleading guilty to criminal charges over a scheme to hide the commodity broker’s financial problems.

Bennett, 60, arrived at the Federal Correctional Institute at Fort Dix, a low-security prison, following a stint under house arrest, also in New Jersey, after pleading guilty in February. After serving his sentence, he will be deported to Britain.

When sentencing Bennett, on July 3, District Judge Naomi Reice accused him of arrogance, saying that he, like other white-collar defendants, often “just don’t think they’ll get caught”.

She told him: “You and others like you play a truly high-stakes poker game.”

Refco floated in August 2005. It filed for bankruptcy just weeks later, after disclosing that a $430 million (£243 million) debt owed to Refco by a company controlled by Bennett had been concealed. Refco’s share price plummeted after the disclosure and fed through into an estimated $1.5 billion loss for investors.

Prosecutors described Bennett as a “fundamentally and thoroughly dishonest human being”, saying that, through his deceit, he had adopted the trappings of a billionaire, with luxuries such as a $20 million aircraft, a $29 million art collection and cars worth $11 million.

“In terms of scope, length, sophistication, harm and criminal benefit, Bennett stands on a plateau of criminality that frankly makes comparisons difficult,” prosecutors wrote in court papers.

They argued that he systematically lied about Refco’s financial condition in a scheme to inflate the company’s value, sell his ownership interest and become rich.

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