Thomas Lanzana of Pawleys Island, South Carolina was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday, having been charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of commodities fraud in August 2018.
The 51-year old former New Jersey resident was accused of defrauding upwards of 45 people by soliciting investments into forex fraud Ponzi schemes.
Court documents reveal that Lanzana solicited approximately $1.1 million since at least 2013 by misrepresenting himself to prospective customers that he was a successful forex trader which was not the case. Lanzana sent his victims falsified account statements along with fake monthly account statements showing balances over $800,000 for forex trading accounts that didn’t exist. To keep the customer’s trust, Lanzana also posted fake tax documents to his victims showing earnings that were made up by him.
“Ponzi Scheme” Used to Fund Lavish Lifestyle
Lanzana used the clients’ money for Amazon.com purchases, luxury cars, jewellery and golfing expenses amongst other things according to the Federal charges. He used some of the money to partially repay initial investors which the government described as “in the manner of a Ponzi scheme.”
The wire fraud charge carries a maximum possible penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. The commodities fraud count carries a maximum possible penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $1 million, or double the gross gain/loss.
