Montecito’s Efstratios “Elias” Argyropoulos, 72, has pleaded guilty to one felony count of wire fraud, a grim chapter in the annals of financial crime. The defendant, who ran Prima Ventures Corporation, promised investors pre-initial public offering shares of Facebook and Twitter, pocketing millions while misleading his victims.
Argyropoulos, between October 2010 and October 2015, duped investors with lies of high returns, falsely stating he could purchase pre-IPO shares of tech giants. He also claimed to have access to opportunities in Alibaba, Etsy, and E-Waste, while boasting about his firm’s licensed status. Yet, neither Argyropoulos nor Prima Ventures were licensed by the SEC or any other authority for securities sales.
Instead of investing funds as promised, Argyropoulos used the money for day-trading in unrelated stocks, personal expenses like landscaping and utilities, and even legal fees from an SEC investigation. His fraudulent activities caused at least $1.495 million in losses, according to court documents. Argyropoulos was charged in a 21-count federal indictment last year.
His plea agreement also reveals a violation of a 2015 injunction by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which banned him from selling fraudulent investments and acting as an unlicensed broker. The case against Argyropoulos was investigated by the FBI, with prosecution handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Scott Paetty and Adam Schleifer.
Argyropoulos is scheduled for sentencing on August 26 before United States District Judge George Wu, facing up to 20 years in federal prison.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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