"Nevadan Arrested for Alleged $45m Metaverse Investment Fraud"
A man was recently arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of masterminding a multimillion-dollar investment fraud scheme that tricked over 10,000 victims. Neil Chandran, 50, of Las Vegas, was charged with three counts of wire fraud and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property. According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), Chandran owned several technology companies marketed to investors as promising high returns as they were about to be acquired by a consortium of prominent business figures. Chandran allegedly claimed that investor funds would be used for normal expenses to keep the companies operating until they were purchased. The indictment alleges that Chandran forced others to make false and misleading representations to investors, including that the firms were about to be purchased by billionaire investors and that any funds plowed into the companies would be used to keep them operating until they were bought. The DoJ stated that no such buyer group was about to purchase the companies for the claimed returns, and a substantial portion of the funds were misappropriated for other business ventures and the personal benefit of Chandran and others, including the purchase of luxury cars and real estate. The DoJ also noted that no prominent billionaires were involved in purchasing Chandran’s companies. Currently, proceeds of the alleged fraud are being seized by the FBI. These 100 assets include bank accounts, real estate, and luxury vehicles. The companies in question operated under the “ViRSE” brand and included Free Vi Lab, Studio Vi, ViDelivery, ViMarket, and Skalex USA. The DoJ stated that companies were marketed as developing virtual world technologies for use in the company’s metaverse, including its own cryptocurrency. The FBI noted that investment fraud was among the highest-earning cybercrime types last year. The 20,600 cases reported to the FBI in 2021 made scammers nearly $1.5bn.
Infosecurity reports: "Nevadan Arrested for Alleged $45m Metaverse Investment Fraud"