FX Ponzi Scheme Deceived 1,500 Individuals with False Promise of 325% Returns

<p>The Securities
and Exchange Commission (<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/sec/" target="_blank" rel="follow">SEC</a>) has filed charges against Florida resident Sanjay
Singh and his logistics firm, Royal Bengal Logistics Inc. The accused is
charged with fraudulently raising an estimated $112 million from nearly 1,500
investors in an unregistered securities offering and running a foreign <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/e/exchange/">exchange</a>
(FX) scam.</p><p>Singh is
accused of embezzling at least $14 million and transferring $19 million to two
separate brokerage accounts. Despite promising investors very high returns, he
lost more than $1 million of their money. This loss was due to Singh's involvement
in risky and speculative stock margin trading.</p><p>SEC Charges Florida Resident
for Operating $112m Forex Scam</p><p>The SEC's
complaint <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-118" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">details </a>that from 2019 through 2023, Singh, via Royal Bengal
Logistics Inc., offered high-yield investment programs that reportedly promised
returns ranging from %12.5 to %325. Singh and Royal Bengal allegedly assured
investors that their funds would be used for business expansion and enhancing
their fleet of semi-trucks and trailers. The defendants claimed that their
investment plans were safe and that Royal Bengal was earning up to $1 million
in revenue per month.</p><p>However,
contrary to these claims, the SEC asserts that Royal Bengal was operating at a
loss and about $70 million of fresh investor funds were used for Ponzi-like
payments to other investors. Singh is further accused of misappropriating at
least $14 million of investor funds for personal use. </p><p>"As
alleged in our complaint, Singh targeted many members of the Haitian-American
community to raise money in a Ponzi-like scheme to enrich himself," Eric
I. Bustillo, the Director of the Miami Regional Office of SEC, commented.
"We are committed to holding accountable individuals like Singh who prey
on investors through lies and deceit."</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We announced charges against Florida resident Sanjay Singh &amp; his trucking &amp; logistics company, w/ fraudulently raising about $112M from as many as 1,500 investors through an unregistered securities offering that primarily targeted Haitian-Americans.<a href="https://t.co/TCRN6xQ0sc">https://t.co/TCRN6xQ0sc</a></p>— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) <a href="https://twitter.com/SECGov/status/1673428650937425920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2023</a></blockquote><p>Legal Consequences and
Preventive Measures</p><p>The
Southern District of Florida's US District Court has accused Singh and Royal
Bengal of breaking federal securities laws, specifically rules around
registration and preventing fraud. Sheetal Singh, Sanjay Singh's wife, and
Constantina Celicourt, the wife of the Vice President of Business Development
at Royal Bengal Logistics, are also involved in the case as relief defendants.</p><p>Following
an urgent request from the SEC, the District Court has approved preliminary
measures. These include preventing further illegal activities (injunctive
relief), freezing assets, and an order that prevents the destruction of
relevant documents. </p><p>The SEC is
also pursuing additional enforcement actions. This could lead to Singh being
barred from serving as an officer or director, permanent injunctions, civil
financial penalties, and the return of unlawfully obtained money with added
interest.</p><p>Ponzi Schemes Are the SEC's
Bread and Butter</p><p>Financial
pyramids and Ponzi schemes are among the most common forms of fraud in the
United States, often leading to significant profits for scammers but even more considerable
losses for deceived investors. Due to the prevalence of these schemes, the SEC
remains highly active in tracking them down, imposing multi-million dollar
penalties on their creators.</p><p>A few
months ago, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/sec-busts-bkcoin-for-running-100m-ponzi-like-scheme/" target="_blank" rel="follow">the SEC shut down BKCoin</a> for operating a scheme resembling a Ponzi
structure. This crypto hedge fund based in Miami swindled at least 55 investors
after accumulating $100 million. Earlier, the US Commodity Futures Trading
Commission (CFTC), a counterpart to the SEC, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/cftc-busts-145m-fx-ponzi-schemes-charges-masterminds/" target="_blank" rel="follow">brought charges</a> against five
individuals and three associated companies for three forex trading Ponzi
schemes amounting to $145 million.</p><p>In
February, US authorities <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/us-indicts-four-co-founders-of-340m-forsage-ponzi-scheme/" target="_blank" rel="follow">accused four co-founders</a> of another cryptocurrency
<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/p/ponzi-scheme/">Ponzi scheme</a>, Forsage. This scheme collected around $340 million through its
decentralized finance (DeFi) investment platform. The founders were indicted
for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, a crime that carries a maximum prison
sentence of 20 years.</p><p>Forex
market financial pyramids are also a problem in other jurisdictions. At the
same time, the Australian Securities and Exchange Commission (ASIC) announced
that David Sipina, a former director of Courtenay House, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/another-director-of-180m-fx-ponzi-scheme-faces-10-years-in-jail/" target="_blank" rel="follow">was criminally charged</a>
in relation to a $180 million forex Ponzi scheme. The harshest punishment he
could receive for his actions is a ten-year prison sentence and a fine of
$810,000.</p>

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.