MANHATTAN – Jian Wu, 34, a former modeler at a New York-based investment management firm, is currently a fugitive after being indicted on charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced today. Wu allegedly schemed to line his pockets with an estimated $23 million in unearned compensation by secretly manipulating the very models he was hired to build.
According to the indictment, Wu, originally from China, worked at the Manhattan firm designing algorithmic investment models – complex systems used to predict stock and financial instrument prices. Between 2021 and 2023, Wu didn’t just *build* these models, he rigged them. After initial approval, he surreptitiously altered key parameters, changing how the models performed and, crucially, how his bonuses were calculated.
The scheme wasn’t limited to post-release tampering. Wu also allegedly used manipulated data sets during testing, creating a false impression of model performance. This deception paid off handsomely – to the tune of $23 million in inflated year-end compensation. Wu then allegedly used a portion of those ill-gotten gains to purchase a multimillion-dollar Manhattan apartment, a stark symbol of his alleged greed.
When the Firm began to suspect something was amiss, Wu didn’t stop. Instead, he allegedly doubled down, making further unauthorized changes to the models in a desperate attempt to cover his tracks. He was ultimately fired in 2024, but by then, the damage was done – and Wu was already on the run.
“As alleged, Jian Wu deceived his employer, a quantitative trading firm, into paying him millions of dollars of unearned compensation,” stated U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Wu’s employer trusted him to act with integrity… Instead, Wu used his technical abilities to cheat his employer out of millions.” FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia added that Wu “betrayed the trust of his employer” and “abused his position to manipulate data models.”
Wu faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each of the three charges: wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander Li and Alexandra Rothman of the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has also initiated separate civil proceedings against Wu. Anyone with information regarding Wu’s whereabouts is urged to contact the FBI immediately.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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