Swede admits to running multi million dollar investment fraud from a villa on Koh Chang - Thai Visa

Swede admits to running multi million dollar investment fraud from a villa on Koh Chang

 

Image: Karlsson being arrested in Koh Chang in June 2019. Manager Online

 

A Swedish man who was charged with running a multi million dollar investment fraud from a villa on Koh Chang has pleaded guilty in a US federal court.

 

Roger Nils-Jonas Karlsson, 47, was arrested at his home on the popular Thai island in June 2019 and extradited to the United States.

 

This week, Karlsson pleaded guilty to securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering charges. In total he defrauded more than 3,500 victims of more than $16 million.

 

Prosecutors in the United States describe a long-running scheme by which Karlsson and his company, Eastern Metal Securities (EMS) used a website to commit wire fraud against thousands of victims.  

 

He used several aliases including Steve Heyden, Euclid Deodoris, Joshua Millard, Lars Georgsson, Paramon Larasoft, and Kenth Westerberg to carry out the fraud, prosecutors said. 

 

From November 27, 2012 to June 19, 2019, Karlsson and EMS used www.easternmetalsecurities.com to make fraudulent representations and convince victims to send funds using a virtual currency exchange.  

 

During the same period, Karlsson and EMS used deceptive "devices and contrivances" to sell securities and then tried to conceal the proceeds of the wire fraud and securities fraud.

 

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Karlsson admitted that he used the website to invite potential investors to purchase shares of the plan for less than $100 per share, promising an eventual payout of 1.15 kilograms of gold per share, an amount of gold which as of Jan. 2, 2019, was worth more than $45,000.  

 

Karlsson advised investors that, in the unlikely event that the gold payout did not happen, he guaranteed to them 97% of the amount they invested. Karlsson admitted he had no way to pay off the investors.  Instead, the funds provided by victims were transferred to Karlsson's personal bank accounts and he then used proceeds to purchase expensive homes and a resort in Thailand, understood to be the Elysium Resort on Koh Chang. 

 

 

 

Karlsson also used a second website, www.hci25.com, to make multiple false communications to potential investors.  Karlsson brought the investors in HCI25 together with the investors in the "Pre Funded Reversed Pension Plan" and posted multiple communications to delay the moment investors would realize there would be no payout.

 

For example, on one occasion, Karlsson explained that a payout had not occurred because releasing so much money all at once could cause a negative effect on financial systems throughout the world.  Karlsson also falsely represented that EMS was working with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to prepare the way for a payout.

 

Karlsson directed his victims to make investments using virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin.  Karlsson admitted he defrauded no less than 3,575 victims of more than $16 million. 

 

Karlsson faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine for the wire fraud and securities fraud charges, and 20 years in prison and a $500,000 maximum fine for the money laundering charge.