An independent candidate for governor of Tennessee faces an 11-count federal indictment for allegedly operating a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that funneled more than $1,900,000 in investor funds to himself and his family.
Federal grand jury Allegedly Maysam Abidi, 47, solicited investors in cryptocurrency investment firm Star Credit Holdings with claims of guaranteed high returns, a reserve fund to protect original capital and inflated representations of total capital under management.
Abedi allegedly provided investors with fictitious account statements and allegedly paid out trading profits using other investors’ assets, a hallmark of a Ponzi structure.
The indictment also alleges that Abedi helped investors obtain loans to direct additional capital to Star Credit Holdings and falsified at least one affidavit alleging that the investor’s identity had been stolen to obtain a loan. He also allegedly failed to report company income on his tax returns.
American lawyer Dr. Michael Dunavant,
“Ponzi schemes, cryptocurrency scams, and financial fraud can be devastating to individual investors, damaging financial institutions, and damaging to the United States Treasury. We commend our federal agency partners for their outstanding investigation of this egregious case. Wherever fraud occurs in the Western District of Tennessee, this office will be prepared to hold perpetrators accountable.”
Al-Obaidi faces three counts of wire fraud, each with a term of up to 20 years, three counts of money laundering, each with a term of up to 10 years, in addition to two charges of running an unlicensed money transfer business and three charges of assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.
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