Larry Ramos Mendoza, Investment Fraud, Florida 2020

Miami, FL – A 34-year-old Miami man, Larry Ramos Mendoza, has been indicted for investment fraud, charging him with defrauding victims of over $21 million.

According to the indictment, from December 2013 through June 2020, Mendoza and his co-conspirators convinced victims to invest their money with Mendoza’s company, The W Trade Group.

The indictment alleges that Mendoza lured clients by misrepresenting that the company’s investment strategy was based on a commodities trading algorithm that he had developed, clients could earn investment returns as high as 19 percent, and investment losses were limited to two percent.

Once Mendoza received the clients’ money, he did not invest it as promised and instead used it for his own benefit, says the indictment. To make the fraudulent scheme appear legitimate, Mendoza created a TWT telephone application where clients could monitor the supposed progress of their investments.

However, when clients logged into their accounts, they would see fake account statements generated by the application. When investors sought the return of their investment funds, Mendoza used new investment money to pay earlier investors, according to the allegations.

The indictment charges Mendoza with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud. If convicted, Mendoza faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.

A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI investigated this case, with assistance from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Perwin is prosecuting this case.

An indictment is a charging instrument containing allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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