Chicago Man Indicted for Fraudulently Obtaining Approximately $9 Million from Investors
| U.S. Attorney’s OfficeJune 24, 2015 |
CHICAGO—A Chicago resident was charged yesterday with wire fraud after fraudulently obtaining approximately $9 million from approximately 50 investors by making false and misleading representations to the investors, which resulted in a loss to investors of approximately $4 million, according to the indictment. The charges allege that Nick Wurl, 25, of Chicago, was the President of Ludiera Capital, LLC, located in Chicago, and that he falsely represented to investors that Ludiera was in the business of buying, transporting, and selling commodities, such as corn and wheat, domestically and internationally, when, in fact, Ludiera never bought, transported, or sold any commodities.
Wurl was arrested on May 26, 2015, and released on bond. He will be arraigned at a later date in U.S. District Court.
According to the indictment, between approximately July 2013 through May 2015, Wurl made false representations about the nature of Ludiera’s business, the financial condition of Ludiera, the expected return and actual return on the investment, the risk involved in the investment, the status of the investment, and the use of investors’ funds. The indictment also alleges that Wurl misappropriated investors’ funds to trade futures and options without disclosing that he was using investors’ funds for trading, and to pay personal expenses for his own benefit. According to the indictment, Wurl fraudulently retained investors’ funds and concealed the scheme by preparing and distributing fraudulent account statements to investors.
The indictment seeks forfeiture of approximately $9 million.
Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or an alternate fine totaling twice the loss or twice the gain, whichever is greater. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission assisted with the investigation.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Stern.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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