An Indian origin tech company executive has been arrested in Los Angeles with links to a $45 million investment scheme that defrauded over 10,000 people.
Identified as Neil Chandran, of Las Vegas, Nevada, the tech entrepreneur was apprehended by the Department of Justice on Wednesday.
As per the indictment, the 50-year-old was operating a group of tech companies under the banner of "ViRSE," which he claimed was going to be acquired by a syndicate.
Chandran duped the potential investors by claiming that their funds will be utilized for operating the companies until they are purchased by prominent billionaires. Also adding that the investors would receive 'extremely' high returns when the acquisition occurs, Opoyicentral reported.
His companies developed virtual-world technologies and their own cryptocurrency for being used in their own metaverse. These were Free Vi Lab, Studio Vi Inc., ViDelivery Inc, ViMarket Inc, and Skalex USA Inc, among others.
The investors transferred their funds to Chandran via credit cards, wire transfers and cryptocurrency payments to accounts in the name of AEO Publishing, Inc., Banner Co-Op, Inc. and BannersGo, LLC, as per Omaha World-Herald.
According to the Department of Justice, there was no buyer group that was aiming to acquire the companies for the claimed returns, nor were there any potential billionaire buyers.
A major portion of the funds were 'misappropriated' by other business ventures, this was accompanied by purchase of luxury cars and real estate for the benefit of Chandran and his subordinates.
The indictment mentioned over different 100 assets like bank accounts, luxury vehicles including 39 Teslas and real estate properties in California and Nevada to mention a few, that will be forfeited as proceeds of the fraud.
The Chandran has been indicted with three counts of wire fraud and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in the criminally derived property, as per Las Vegas Review-Journal.
If found guilty, the tech entrepreneur could be sentenced up to 20 years in prison for each of the wire frauds and an additional 10 years for every count of engaging in illegal monetary transactions.
The trial is expected to be held in Lincoln; Nebraska, as requested by the US Attorney's Office. Chandran used to live in Lincoln before coming to Las Vegas. The US Marshals and the FBI are currently working on seizing the rest of the assets pending the resolution of the criminal case.
