Gustavo Guzman, Securities Fraud, North Carolina 2023

A California man has pleaded guilty to securities fraud in North Carolina, admitting to orchestrating a $2 million investment scheme that defrauded 10 victims.

Gustavo Guzman, 60, previously of Fullerton, California, pleaded guilty to securities fraud in Charlotte, North Carolina, on April 15, 2023, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to the statement, Guzman, through various entities he controlled, including G2 Asset Management and East Egg Private Equity, defrauded investors of at least $2 million between April 2010 and August 2015.

Guzman falsely represented that he would use the investors’ money to trade in options and other similar investments, but instead stole a substantial portion of the funds to fund his personal lifestyle, including large credit card payments and cash withdrawals, and to pay for personal expenditures.

He also admitted to lying to his victims about the status of their investments and providing them with fake documents, including sham IRS forms and fraudulent account statements, to conceal the trading losses and the fraudulent scheme.

Guzman has been in federal custody since he was extradited from Australia to the United States in November 2022.

At sentencing, he faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission conducted a parallel investigation that resulted in the entry of a default judgment against Guzman in Civil Action No. 3:17-cv-00276 (WDNC).

The case was investigated by the FBI in Charlotte and the Securities Division of the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.

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