A Harvard Enterprise Faculty graduate was arrested Thursday on fraud fees alleging he swindled fellow alumni of the distinguished faculty out of over $4 million in a Ponzi scheme, even assuring one investor they’d quickly “brag” about their “loopy positive factors” on the faculty’s reunion.
Vladimir Artamonov, 46, was taken into custody in Elkridge, Maryland, the place he lived, and was charged with securities, wire and funding adviser fraud for allegedly finishing up the scheme from September 2021 by way of February 2024.
An indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court docket stated Artamonov promised massive returns and little threat to dupe former classmates and different alumni into investing with him, telling one investor: “It will likely be your greatest funding. The perception is air tight.”
Messages for remark left with Harvard and a lawyer for Artamonov weren’t instantly returned. Artamonov, showing earlier than a Justice of the Peace choose in federal court docket in Maryland, was launched on $300,000 bail with directions to don’t have any contact with victims or potential trial witnesses.
The allegations towards Artamonov had been first revealed in late February 2024 by New York Lawyer Basic Letitia James, who stated in a information launch then that her workplace discovered in regards to the fraud after one in all a number of dozen buyers ended his personal life after studying he had misplaced $100,000.
“Even refined buyers could be conned by fraudsters, particularly when private relationships and networks are used to construct a false sense of belief,” James stated.
She stated Artamonov “used his alumnus standing from Harvard Enterprise Faculty to prey on his classmates and others whereas seeming legit and reliable.”
Artamonov, a 2003 Harvard graduate with a grasp’s in enterprise administration, used the college’s alumni community to establish buyers, authorities stated.
The indictment stated he promised buyers that he might establish securities on the verge of creating massive positive factors by recognizing public insurance coverage firm filings by associates of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. previous to public filings made to the Securities and Alternate Fee which can be extra carefully adopted by buyers.
As an alternative of following that plan, Artamonov put investor cash into dangerous short-term choices, shedding tens of millions of {dollars}, typically inside days of receiving the cash from buyers, the indictment stated.
It stated he repeatedly assured buyers that massive income had been on the horizon and even promised one investor that it was “nearly sure we’ll make a ton of cash” quickly and that they’d “brag” about their “loopy positive factors” on the Harvard Enterprise Faculty reunion.
Traders finally demanded their a refund, inflicting Artamonov to return lower than $400,000 by paying authentic buyers with cash from new buyers or by declining to reimburse them in any respect, the indictment stated.
It stated Artamonov misplaced a lot of the cash or spent tens of hundreds of {dollars} on gadgets akin to lodging, meals and alcohol, and transportation.
Christopher G. Raia, head of New York’s FBI workplace, stated in a information launch that Artamonov “exploited the status of a well-respected college and funding firm to unlawfully rocure investments, which he used to pay for private bills.”
U.S. Lawyer Jay Clayton stated Artamonov “betrayed buyers, together with buddies and former Ivy League classmates.”
