Rick Tariq Rahim, Wire Fraud, Virginia 2023

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Great Falls Man Guilty of Wire Fraud Scheme, Faces Up to 20 Years in Prison

Alexandria, VA – In a shocking case of deception and greed, Rick Tariq Rahim, a 56-year-old Great Falls resident, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, a federal offense that can land him up to 20 years in prison. Rahim’s scheme, which lasted for years, involved defrauding customers who wanted to invest using his automated trading bots.

According to court documents, Rahim marketed his products under various websites, including BotsforWealth, TradeAutomation.com, ProChartSignals.com, OptionCopier.com, CopyAndWin.com, SnipeAlgo.com, and QQQtrade.com. He charged customers a subscription fee for access to his bots, software, and copying his supposed trades. Rahim also offered a ‘lifetime membership’ to his private Discord channel, where customers received access to his products and his ‘in-office’ trading days.

Rahim used video-centric social media tools like TikTok, YouTube, and Discord to induce customers to subscribe to his products. He posted false information to his websites and social media accounts, claiming to ‘beat the stock market every day’ and promising extreme profit margins. However, in reality, Rahim lost over $300,000 of his clients’ funds in just eight months.

As part of his scheme, Rahim created at least 20 Discord user profiles to post emojis, likes, and symbols showing agreement and excitement regarding his posts. He earned at least $1,397,000 in subscription fees during the course of his schemes. The court has ordered Rahim not to give any financial investment advice to anyone for a fee.

Rahim’s accomplice, Ian Taylor Higgins, 33, was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the wire fraud conspiracy. Higgins profited by over $4 million, which he used to purchase a Florida home, two Teslas, Rolexes, and other luxury goods. He admitted that investors had little chance of making any profit despite being told they could.

Rahim is scheduled to be sentenced for both the wire fraud scheme and his tax fraud on December 20. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud scheme and five years in prison for his tax fraud conviction. The total loss to Rahim’s clients and the IRS is estimated to be over $6 million.