US: Tech Firms’ Owner Arrested For Million Fraud

An Indian American owner of a group of tech companies has been arrested in Los Angeles for allegedly defrauding more than 10,000 people of over $45 million.

Neil Chandran, 50, of Las Vegas, was arrested on June 29 after the unsealing of a previously returned indictment by a federal grand jury in the District of Nebraska on June 14, according to a Justice Department release.

Chandran is charged with 3 counts of wire fraud and 2 counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.

He faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the wire fraud counts and up to 10 years in prison for each of the counts of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.

Chandra used his companies to defraud investors by claiming that one or more of his companies, operated under the banner of "ViRSE," was about to be acquired by a group of wealthy buyers, according to the indictment.

Chandran’s companies — which included Free Vi Lab, Studio Vi Inc., ViDelivery Inc., ViMarket Inc., and Skalex USA Inc., among others — developed virtual-world technologies, including their own cryptocurrency, for use in the companies’ own metaverse.

He suggested they would soon receive extremely high returns when one or more of those companies was purchased by a group of wealthy buyers.

Chandran also told them that investor funds would be used for normal expenses to keep the companies operating until they were purchased, and prominent business figures, including 2 billionaires, were involved in the purchase.

In fact, according to the indictment, there was no such buyer group that was about to purchase Chandran’s companies for the claimed returns and no prominent billionaires were involved in purchasing them.

The funds were misappropriated for other business ventures and Chandran's personal benefit, including the purchase of luxury cars and real estate.

US Marshals and the FBI are seizing most of the assets pending resolution of the criminal case, the release said.