Swedish Man Gets 15 Years in Jail for $16 Million Fraud

A Swedish man, who pleaded guilty of defrauding thousands of victims of more than $16 million, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison by a United States court. He was convicted under the charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and Money Laundering Money Laundering Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laund Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laund Read this Term.

Roger Nils-Jonas Karlsson was taken into custody on Koh Chang, an island off the coast of Thailand, in mid-2019 under an Interpol warrant and then handed over to the United States authorities.

According to the United States Securities and Exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term Commission (SEC), Karlsson and his company, Eastern Metal Securities (EMS), defrauded more than 3,500 victims across 46 countries.

Bust of Another Too-Good-to-Be-True Scheme

He induced the victims to purchase shares of the fraudulent scheme with promises of astronomical returns. He falsely claimed that he was selling gold investment products that would, by this author’s estimate, provide a 450-fold return. If this did not happen, Karlsson said, he would return a minimum of 97 percent of funds invested.

He collected most of the victims' funds in Bitcoins, but instead of investing, transferred them to his personal bank accounts. He used the deposits in purchasing expensive homes, a racehorse and a resort in Thailand.

Created in late 2012 and dissolved after 7 years, Karlsson’s scheme defrauded hundreds of deaf and hard-of-hearing people who invested their retirement funds in his million-dollar crypto scam. To continue defrauding the investors, he even rebranded his scheme, offered updates and false account statements, convincing investors about the safety of their assets.

Now the court ordered him to forfeit the Thai resort and several other properties, along with a monetary judgment of $16.2 million.

“The United States is seeking restitution on behalf of Karlsson’s victims. A restitution order is expected to be entered by the court within 90 days,” the Department of Justice notice stated.