Francius Marganda, Ponzi Scheme, New York 2023

Indonesian National Extradited from Singapore to Face Charges of Running Ponzi Scheme Targeting Indonesian and Indo-American Community

A 16-count indictment and 16-count superseding indictment were unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn charging Indonesian national Francius Marganda with securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and related conspiracy counts for running a Ponzi scheme from May 2019 to May 2021 that targeted hundreds of victim investors residing in more than 12 states including New York and in Indonesia.

Francius Marganda was extradited to the Eastern District of New York from Singapore yesterday and will be arraigned on November 13, 2023 before United States Chief Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), announced the extradition and charges.

“Hundreds of victims entrusted their hard-earned money to a fellow countryman from Indonesia who turned out to be an unscrupulous fraudster. Marganda betrayed their trust by using a classic Ponzi scheme to defraud them out of millions of dollars for his own personal gain,” stated United States Attorney Peace.

Marganda owned and operated Air Travel Ticketing Corp., a discount airline tickets company in New York, and operated MH Lux & Beauty Inc., a purported luxury goods company registered in California.

This Office is committed to protecting the investing public from predators like Marganda and will work closely with our law enforcement partners to bring these criminals to justice regardless of where in the world they are located,” stated United States Attorney Peace.

Marganda allegedly preyed on his fellow expatriates and countrymen in order to defraud them of their money. The defendant enticed his victims with promises of an extraordinary return on investment, a tried-and-true lure into a Ponzi Scheme. Instead, the victims’ money went to funding the defendant’s extravagant lifestyle.

The FBI and our law enforcement partners are dedicated to protecting the public from scams and ensuring that those who perpetuate these types of schemes face the consequences for their actions,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith.

“HSI is proud to work with our partners at home and abroad, leveraging our international footprint to protect innocent victims from predatory schemes and bring the perpetrators to justice,” stated HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Arvelo.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/indonesian-national-extradited-signapore-face-charges-running-ponzi-scheme-targeting