Latest news with #FranciusMarganda
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Con man who defrauded over 200 people in $24.5M Ponzi scheme sentenced to 18 years
A man was sentenced to 18 years in jail in New York for running a $24.5 million Ponzi scheme in which he defrauded over 200 victims in sham loan programs and used the money to fund a lifestyle of luxury goods and lavish hotel stays — while some of his bankrupt victims struggled to pay for chemotherapy. Francius Marganda, 42, was sentenced Thursday in Brooklyn court in connection with running the three-year scheme, New York prosecutors announced. He's been ordered to pay $8.5 million in restitution and $7.5 million in forfeiture. Marganda ran the scheme from May 2019 to May 2021 while living in New York after overstaying his visa, prosecutors said. In the plot, he solicited people — primarily Indonesian and Indo-American investors — to invest in two sham programs, called Easy Transfer and Global Transfer. He and co-conspirators falsely claimed the programs to be short-term, high-interest loan programs where investors could earn passive incomes, promising rates of return as high as 200% or more. Instead of investing that money, Marganda and his co-conspirators allegedly misappropriated the funds for their own benefit, spending on real estate, luxury goods, paying off credit card bills while laundering the proceeds into their bank account. In one instance, more than $3.8 million in scheme proceeds were transferred into one of Marganda's personal accounts over 11 months, and more than $264,000 in proceeds was used to pay off his credit card bills, the release said. The scheme collapsed in May 2021 when Marganda and co-conspirators stopped making payments to investors. Marganda fled the U.S., and got an Indonesian passport under a fake name, prosecutors said. Then he continued to use the scheme money to stay in luxury hotels around the world — including France, the Maldives, Nepal and Thailand. At least 237 victims, ranging in age from 24 to 84, were identified, with losses of more than $24.5 million. The victims resided in at least 31 states, including New York, Washington, D.C., as well as Indonesia and Malaysia. 'Many of the victims had limited means and had pooled their resources with relatives and friends to make investments in U.S. dollars and Indonesian rupiah,' prosecutors said in a news release. Victim statements were presented at Marganda's sentencing and many said the fraud caused them to declare bankruptcy, lose nearly all their savings, and suffer serious hardship. One victim struggled to pay for a family member's chemotherapy, due to the fraud. Another struggled to pay for medical expenses associated with a family members's stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis. Another lacked funds to travel and pay respects after both of their parents died, the release said. In November 2023, Marganda was extradited from Singapore to the U.S. He pleaded guilty to securities fraud in July. 'Marganda's attempt to evade justice by fleeing halfway across the world to hide in fancy hotels was futile, as he found out today in a federal courtroom in Brooklyn,' John J. Durham, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. 'It is my hope that this prosecution will bring some measure of relief to the victims of Marganda's fraud, who trusted him with their life savings because of their shared nationality and were cruelly exploited by him.' Florian Miedel, an attorney for Marganda, told NBC News: 'Although greatly disappointed in what is an extraordinary sentence for a first time offender, Mr. Marganda will use his time behind bars productively and will endeavor to pay his victims back when he is released.'This article was originally published on
NBC News
04-04-2025
- NBC News
Conman who defrauded over 200 people in $24.5 Ponzi scheme sentenced to 18 years in jail
A man was sentenced to 18 years in jail in New York for running a $24.5 million Ponzi scheme in which he defrauded over 200 victims in sham loan programs and used the money to fund a lifestyle of luxury goods and lavish hotel stays ... while some of his bankrupt victims struggled to pay for chemotherapy expenses. Francius Marganda, 42, was sentenced Thursday in Brooklyn court in connection with running the three-year scheme, New York prosecutors announced. He's been ordered to pay $8.5 million in restitution and $7.5 million in forfeiture. Marganda ran the scheme from May 2019 to May 2021 while living in New York after overstaying his visa, prosecutors said. In the plot, he solicited people — primarily Indonesian and Indo-American investors — to invest in two sham programs, called Easy Transfer and Global Transfer. He and co-conspirators falsely claimed the programs to be short-term, high-interest loan programs where investors could earn passive incomes, promising rates of return as high as 200% or more. Instead of investing that money, Marganda and his co-conspirators allegedly misappropriated the funds for their own benefit, spending on real estate, luxury goods, paying off credit card bills while laundering the proceeds into their bank account. In one instance, more than $3.8 million in scheme proceeds were transferred into one of Marganda's personal accounts over 11 months, and more than $264,000 in proceeds was used to pay off his credit card bills, the release said. The scheme collapsed in May 2021 when Marganda and co-conspirators stopped making payments to investors. Marganda fled the U.S., and got an Indonesian passport under a fake name, prosecutors said. Then he continued to use the scheme money to stay in luxury hotels around the world — including France, the Maldives, Nepal, and Thailand. At least 237 victims, ranging in age from 24 to 84, were identified, with losses of more than $24.5 million. The victims resided in at least 31 states, including New York, Washington D.C., as well as Indonesia and Malaysia. 'Many of the victims had limited means and had pooled their resources with relatives and friends to make investments in U.S. dollars and Indonesian rupiah,' prosecutors said in a news release. Victim statements were presented at Marganda's sentencing and many said the fraud caused them to declare bankruptcy, lose nearly all their savings, and suffer serious hardship. One victim struggled to pay for a family member's chemotherapy, due to the fraud. Another struggled to pay for medical expenses associated with a family members's stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis. Another lacked funds to travel and pay respects after both of their parents died, the release said. In November 2023, Marganda was extradited from Singapore to the U.S. He pleaded guilty to securities fraud in July. 'Marganda's attempt to evade justice by fleeing halfway across the world to hide in fancy hotels was futile, as he found out today in a federal courtroom in Brooklyn,' John J. Durham, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. 'It is my hope that this prosecution will bring some measure of relief to the victims of Marganda's fraud, who trusted him with their life savings because of their shared nationality and were cruelly exploited by him.' Florian Miedel, an attorney for Marganda, told NBC News: 'Although greatly disappointed in what is an extraordinary sentence for a first time offender, Mr. Marganda will use his time behind bars productively and will endeavor to pay his victims back when he is released.'
USA Today
04-04-2025
- USA Today
'Heartless scheme': Jet-setting con man stole $24.5M, lived fugitive life in fancy hotels
'Heartless scheme': Jet-setting con man stole $24.5M, lived fugitive life in fancy hotels An Indonesian man swindled fellow immigrants in America out of their life savings in order to fund a years-long escape with a romantic partner where they traveled the world staying in luxury hotels. Show Caption Hide Caption Ex-NFL LB sentenced to two years for running a $5M Ponzi scheme Former NFL linebacker John Robert Leake has been sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison for running a $5 million Ponzi scheme. unbranded - Sport A man who defrauded people of tens of millions of dollars to fund a jet-setting romantic escape full of stays in five-star hotels was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison, authorities announced Thursday. U.S. District Judge Dora L. Irizarry's sentencing of Francius Marganda in federal court in Brooklyn concludes a saga that saw the Indonesian national travel the world thanks to the wallets of hundreds of people who poured savings into his sham investment schemes, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Victims were left 'financially crippled' and unable to cover vital costs including cancer treatments and education, prosecutors said. 'Marganda's attempt to evade justice by fleeing halfway across the world to hide in fancy hotels was futile,' said John J. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. 'It is my hope that this prosecution will bring some measure of relief to the victims of Marganda's fraud, who trusted him with their life savings.' The 42-year-old fled the United States in 2021 when investors realized Marganda was scamming them. The $24.5 million he stole funded stays in lavish hotels from France and the Maldives to Nepal and Thailand, according to prosecutors. He was ultimately arrested and extradited from Singapore in 2023. Marganda pleaded guilty last July to securities fraud and was ordered to pay $8.5 million in restitution and forfeit $7.5 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Investigators have linked the fraudster to 237 victims, ranging in age from 24 to 84, and spread across 31 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the countries of Malaysia and his native Indonesia, prosecutors said. Marganda's victims believed they were investing in short-term, high-interest programs where they could get as much as 200% return on the money they put in, court filings say. When asked to comment, Marganda's lawyer, Florian Miedel, said: 'Although greatly disappointed in what is an extraordinary sentence for a first time offender, Mr. Marganda will use his time behind bars productively and will endeavor to pay his victims back when he is released.' The Ponzi scheme leader worked with at least two other people whom he paid a commission for every investor they attracted as well as dinners and hotel stays, according to court filings. The two, Imanuelly Jaya and Theresia Jaya, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing, court documents say. 'Francius Marganda's heartless scheme caused irreparable emotional, psychological, and in some cases even physical damage,' said Michael Alfonso, acting special agent in charge with Homeland Security, Investigations. 'Marganda left hardworking families without money they desperately needed for crucial, life-altering expenses . . . No amount of prison time can make up for the irreversible pain Marganda and his co-conspirators have caused.' Authorities involved in the investigation spanned the globe, from federal prosecutors in New York City to local police departments in Minnesota and South Carolina, Department of Justice attachés in Manila and Bangkok and police in Singapore. Promises of gold mines: Ex-NFL player gets prison for running Ponzi scheme Fugitive 'cosmopolitan globetrotter' Marganda had stolen over $24.5 million by the time investors realized his programs were fictitious. He charted a path on the run in places such as France, the Maldives, Nepal and Thailand, according to prosecutors. Under the alias 'Joshua Setiawan,' Marganda traveled like a 'cosmopolitan globetrotter,' prosecutors say in court filings. He typically traveled with a romantic partner and the two stayed in luxury hotels. According to federal court documents, stays included a three-month stint at the five-star St. Regis Hotel in Bangkok and a five-star Marriott hotel in Kathmandu. A credit card registered to Marganda's one-time fiancé – not the partner he traveled with – was used to pay for their first stays on the run, according to court papers. He was finally arrested by police in Singapore after a stay at the five-star Barracks Hotel Santosa, court documents say. Ponzi scheme 'changed futures and ruined families' Some 237 people invested in Marganda's sham programs: Easy Transfer and Global Transfer, according to court filings. Many investors became involved in the supposed 200% return schemes through Facebook groups, court papers say, and they came from 31 states, plus Washington, D.C., and the countries of Malaysia and Singapore. Marganda and his assistant targeted other Indonesian immigrants in America who had 'limited means,' according to prosecutors. The Indonesian national was in the country illegally after overstaying his visa. At least 82 of the victims lived in Queens, New York, court papers say. They included people who went to the same church as Marganda's assistants and they invested by pooling their cash, using both U.S. dollars and Indonesian rupiah. They poured their life savings into the investment schemes and when they realized the money they had originally saved for their children's education, weddings and other consequential expenses was gone, it 'changed futures and ruined families,' prosecutors say in court filings. Victims were left struggling to cover chemotherapy treatments and costs from a Stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis; they were unable to travel to bury their parents; several contemplated suicide and worse. One victim, a young mother, considered ending the life she had hardly begun, according to victims' statements that are part of the public record in the case. "I kept wanting to harm myself and worse my daughter,' she said in a statement. 'My midwives kept calling and texting me every hour just to make sure I wouldn't do anything that I would regret for the rest of my life.' Individual victims invested as much as $74,300 in the schemes, according to statements from victims included in court filings. Several people Marganda swindled told investigators that there are likely more victims who are hesitant to come forward out of shame or fear. They 'are Indonesian immigrants in the US, isolated without family or friends, and they're terrified to speak up, fearing repercussions from the police or FBI,' one victim said, according to court filings. The FBI maintains a special page dedicated to Marganda's Ponzi scheme where new victims can come forward and potentially be eligible for restitution. Michael Loria is a national reporter on the USA TODAY breaking news desk. Contact him at mloria@ @mchael_mchael or on Signal at (202) 290-4585.
