iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
The Indian American owner of a technology company alleged of defrauding and misleading investors was arrested Wednesday, June 29 in Los Angeles, the Department of Justice announced.
According to the indictment, Neil Chandran of Las Vegas in Nevada owned a group of technology companies that he used in a scheme to defraud investors by falsely promising extremely high returns on the assumption that one or more of his companies, operating under the banner of “ViRSE,” was about to be acquired by a consortium of wealthy buyers.
Chandran has been alleged to defrauding over $45 million from more than 10,000 companies.
He ran several companies – Free Vi Lab, Studio Vi Inc, ViDelivery Inc, ViMarket Inc, and Skalex USA Inc, among others, had developed virtual-world technologies, including their own crypto-currency, for use in the companies’ own meta-verse.
The indictment alleges Chandran provided false materials and made misleading presentations before the investors using the same carrot of the consortium of wealthy buyers making a beeline to buy his companies.
The indictment observed that no such wealthy group of buyers, ever existed. A substantial portion of the funds was misappropriated for other business ventures and personal use of Chandran and others, like the purchase of luxury vehicles, real estate.
Chandran is charged with three counts of wire fraud and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in the criminally derived property.
If convicted, Chandran faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the wire fraud counts and up to 10 years in prison for each count of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.
The indictment also alleges that 100 different assets—bank accounts, real estate, and luxury vehicles, including 39 Tesla vehicles—are subject to forfeiture as proceeds of the fraud.
US Marshals and the FBI are seizing most of the assets pending the resolution of the criminal case.
