An Alameda resident was sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding at least 20 people out of millions of dollars, according to a federal press release.
Long Nguyen pleaded guilty last October to four counts of wire fraud. He was also ordered by the judge to pay almost $1.5 million in restitution and to forfeit $1 million.
According to the press release, Nguyen admitted to making several false statements between September 2015 and July 2021 to entice his victims into giving him money, which he then used to enrich himself.
Nguyen admitted to lying that he was a billionaire who was starting his own hedge fund and that other people had invested with him and turned a significant profit, according to a news release from federal prosecutors. He also lied about opportunities for victim investors, claiming that he would and did invest victims’ money, providing them with monthly income.
He admitted to creating fake screenshots of growing investment account balances to back his claims and falsely told victims that he would buy or have already bought them Teslas and homes, according to the federal press release.
According to the plea agreement, Nguyen admitted that he intended to defraud his victims and that he did not invest the majority of the money he received from his victims. Instead, he kept the money for personal use or to pay other victims back.
According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Nguyen continued to lie to his victims when they asked for their money back. He falsely told them he was being audited, that his accounts had been frozen, and that lawyers or the bank were reasons for the delay. He also sent fraudulent checks that his victims were unable to cash.
Nguyen will serve three years of supervised release after his prison term is completed.