Monday, April 6, 2009

California Man Pleads Guilty In $14 Million Ponzi Scheme Investment Fraud

Antoine David Haroutunian, 47, of Glendale, California, pleaded guilty last week to defrauding investors out of more than $14 million between June 2005 and August 2008. Haroutunian reportedly offered investors, whom he had identified by taking customer information from Bank of America with whom he had previously been employed, 24 percent returns to entice them. In fact, according to prosecutors, he made almost no investments, instead using victims' money "to line his own pockets and those of his associates, and to fund his business ventures." In a classic Ponzi scheme, Haroutunian used later investor funds to make "interest" payments and make capital disbursements to earlier investors. Last month he plead guilty to the unauthorized utilization of Bank of America's customer data and tax evasion. He faces up to 120 years in prison.

Read the story here and here.

Read the DOJ announcement here.

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