Alleged Ponzi-scheme by Las Vegas executive 'targeted thousands of Japanese'
PUBLISHED : Friday, 10 July, 2015, 11:03am
UPDATED : Friday, 10 July, 2015, 11:03am
Associated Press in Las Vegas
Alleged Ponzi-scheme by Las Vegas executive 'targeted thousands of Japanese'
US authorities want to arrest of the chief executive of a Las Vegas investment company and two of his former Asia-based executives claiming they headed a US$1.5 billion Ponzi-style fraud scheme.
Edwin Fujinaga of Las Vegas, and Junzo Suzuki and Paul Suzuki, both of Tokyo, were each indicted on eight counts of mail fraud and nine counts of wire fraud in a scheme the FBI said operated through Las Vegas-based MRI International Inc.
Thousands of unsuspecting Japanese investors were victims, Assistant US Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said.
Fujinaga, 68, also is charged with three counts of money laundering, and the indictment filed in the US District Court in Las Vegas seeks the forfeiture of the proceeds of the alleged crimes. The three could face decades in prison if convicted.
The indictment identifies Fujinaga as former president and chief executive of MRI, Junzo Suzuki as the firm's Asia Pacific executive vice president and Paul Suzuki as general manager for Japan operations.
US Attorney Daniel Bogden said they told thousands of overseas victims their investments would be safely held and managed by an independent, third-party escrow agent in Nevada.
Meanwhile, Fujinaga and the Suzukis are accused of using investors' funds to pay for gambling, travel by private jet and other personal expenses. The alleged scheme operated for at least four years before it was exposed in April 2013.
