Source: Office of United States Attorneys
TRENTON, N.J. – A Middlesex County, New Jersey man today admitted defrauding victims in South Korea through a bogus investment scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced.
Mohammed Rahman, 64, of Iselin, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner in Trenton federal court to an Information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Rahman controlled a company, Caltech Trading Corporation, through which he purported to buy and sell commodities. Rahman and other individuals in South Korea persuaded approximately 60 victims there to invest funds purportedly towards the purchase of $1 million of sugar from Brazil, which Caltech would then sell for a substantial profit. Rahman and his associates memorialized the investment terms in a fraudulent investment agreement that falsely promised the victim investors that they would receive a one hundred percent return on their investment. The victims relied on Rahman’s misrepresentations about how their funds would be used which, instead of being invested towards the purchase of sugar, were wired into Rahman’s bank account and used to pay his personal expenses, including his mortgage. Rahman also altered his bank account statement in an attempt to conceal the fact that he did not use the investors’ funds to purchase sugar.
The wire fraud conspiracy charge to which Rahman pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for May 29, 2025.
Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer Piovesan, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas in Newark, with the investigation. He also thanked the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Ecker of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Robert G. Stahl, Esq.