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Junzo Suzuki, Ponzi Scheme, Nevada 2015
Nevada – Two former executives of a Las Vegas investment company have been extradited to the United States on charges related to a $1.5 billion Ponzi scheme.
Junzo Suzuki, 70, and his son Paul Suzuki, 40, both Japanese nationals, were each charged in a July 2015 indictment with eight counts of mail fraud and nine counts of wire fraud. The Suzukis will make their initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cam Ferenbach this afternoon.
According to the indictment, the Suzukis and their co-defendant Edwin Fujinaga, 72, of Las Vegas, fraudulently solicited investments from thousands of Japanese residents. When MRI International, the investment company, collapsed, it allegedly owed investors over $1.5 billion.
The indictment alleges that Fujinaga and the Suzukis promised investors a series of interest payments that would accrue over the life of the investment and would be paid out along with the face value of the investment at the conclusion of the investments’ duration.
The defendants allegedly solicited investments by promising investors that their investments would be used only for the purchase of medical accounts receivable (MARS) and by representing that investors’ funds would be managed and safeguarded by an independent third-party escrow company.
Japanese authorities arrested the Suzukis in January 2019 at the request of the United States, and extradited them to the United States on April 17. The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.
Key Facts
- State: Nevada
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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