A Harvard Business School MBA was charged in New York with running a $2.9 million pyramid scheme with at least 29 investors, one of whom committed suicide after learning he had lost all of his investment. This included investors who were said to be
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday (February 29) claimed to know what kind of investments Warren Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway plans to make, and said she would be willing to pay between 500% and 1,000%. It accused Vladimir Artamonov, a 2003 MBA graduate of HBS, of deceiving investors by promising returns. make.
“Even sophisticated investors can be fooled by fraudsters, especially when they use personal relationships and networks to create a false sense of trust,” James said from his firm. said in a statement. “Vladimir Artamonov used his position as a Harvard Business School graduate to appear legitimate and trustworthy while preying on his classmates and others. has defrauded people of their investments, with dire consequences. Today, we are putting a stop to this scheme and encouraging those who have been defrauded to come forward to my office.”
Dangers of MBA networks
Vladimir Artamonov.linkedin
James, who is known for recently winning a $500 million judgment on fraud charges against Donald Trump in one of the former president’s many ongoing lawsuits, said her office It said it had obtained a court order to prevent him from “harming investors through his fraudulent scheme.” Additionally, withdrawals or transfers of funds from bank or brokerage accounts are prohibited.
A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to previous investors with funds from recent investors. Mr. Artamonov is accused of losing millions of dollars of investors’ money by buying short-term options and not disclosing the losses, instead paying back existing investors with new investments. “Artamonov also used investor funds to fund unauthorized personal expenses, including vacations, shopping, and meals,” James’ office said.
According to James’ office, from September 2021 to the present, Artamonov solicited funds for an investment fund he called “Project Information Arbitrage” or “Artamonov Fund.” He “identified many investors through the HBS alumni network,” many of whom “did not have close personal relationships with him and knew him only as acquaintances.”
“Since 2021, Mr. Artamonov has engaged in a Ponzi scheme by securing at least $2.9 million from at least 29 individual investors and disbursing new investor funds to existing investors,” James’ office said in a statement. ” he said. “For example, in October 2022, Artamonov received $100,000 from investors, but lost virtually all of these funds within weeks in short-term options. At that time, Artamonov told them he had not yet invested and demanded an additional $50,000.
Artamonov founded his own hedge fund in 2009
The scam came to the attention of the James firm after learning about an investor who committed suicide after learning he had lost $100,000 in Artamonov’s scheme. But “even after the tragedy, Artamonov continued to solicit new investors and lied about the fund’s strategy and performance,” James’ office said.
When asked for comment by CNBC, HBS spokesperson Mark Kautera said in an email: No further comments. ”
Artamonov’s LinkedIn account identifies him as an “investment professional” at Greenlight Capital, a New York City-based hedge fund with a $4.5 billion portfolio. He earned his MBA from Harvard University in 2003 and has been working there since. Since 2009, he has also been a portfolio manager at Coastal Investment Management, a California-based “value-focused” hedge fund he co-founded with Todd Plutsky. According to data insights firm Preqin, Coastal “employs a long/short equity strategy that focuses on special situations. The firm’s flagship fund, Coastal Investment Partners, was founded in July 2009. Ta.”
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