Aditya Raj Sharma, $10 Million Investment Fraud Scheme, Minnesota 2024

A brazen $10 million investment scam has landed a Maple Grove man behind bars, with authorities announcing the indictment of Aditya Raj Sharma, 50, for defrauding investors and financial institutions out of over $10 million. The indictment, announced by U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger, stems from Sharma's time as the founder, CEO, and president of Crosscode Inc., a cloud-based software development company headquartered in Maple Grove and later in Foster City, California.

According to court documents, from 2017 through at least 2019, Sharma knowingly and intentionally devised and executed a scheme to defraud investors, financial institutions, and lending and finance companies. The documents reveal that Sharma manipulated and falsely inflated Crosscode's financial records to induce private investors and financial entities to extend capital to his company, with the aim of avoiding or delaying financial hardship for Crosscode, which was mired in debt with virtually no incoming revenue or cash-on-hand.

As part of his multi-year scheme, Sharma fraudulently applied for hundreds of thousands in funding from multiple lenders and finance companies. In total, Sharma induced at least one financial institution to provide him with a $950,000 line of credit, and further induced at least 150 investors, including Minnesotans, to provide approximately $9.25 million to Crosscode.

The indictment charges Sharma with four counts of wire fraud and two counts of bank fraud. Sharma made his initial appearance yesterday in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster. This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew S. Ebert is prosecuting the case. An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The scope of Sharma's scheme is staggering, with the indictment revealing that he defrauded investors and financial institutions out of over $10 million. The case serves as a stark reminder of the importance of conducting thorough due diligence when investing in companies, particularly those with a history of financial instability.

The outcome of this case is still pending, with Sharma's next court appearance scheduled for [insert date]. We will continue to follow this case and provide updates as more information becomes available.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/maple-grove-felon-indicted-10-million-investment-fraud-scheme