Premium Point Investments CEO Anilesh “Neil” Ahuja was found guilty by a Manhattan jury for his role in a scheme to fraudulently inflate his hedge fund’s value by more than $100 million. Ahuja along with Jeremy Shor, a former trader at the firm, each were found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud.
CEO Involved in $100M Mismarking Scheme
In May 2018, Ajuha was arrested and charged with directing his subordinates to inflate the net asset value of the firm’s mortgage credit funds titled the “Hedge Fund” and “New Issue Fund”. This overvalue of PPI’s real estate products spanned from 2014 to 2016 by an amount of $200 million.
This allowed the firm to charge higher management and performance fees to investors, as well as forestall redemptions by investors who likely would have requested it had they known of the firm’s true performance.
Six Week Trial Resulted in Quick Deliberation
After a six-week trial held before U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, the jury delivered a speedy conviction after only seven hours of deliberation. Prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office used PPI’s internal documents to highlight $100 million of overmarking, though they told Judge Failla that they could’ve proven double that figure. Prosecutor Joshua Naftalis stated that the $100 million was just a “lesser included number” that was at the center of the government’s proof, but they didn’t believe the $200 million to be wrong.
Third Person Charged in Case; Fund Liquidated
Amin Majidi, a third person charged, plead guilty in October and acted as a prosecution witness in this trail; pointing blame in the direction of Ahuja and Shor.
The fund is currently being liquidated.
Speak with a Securities Fraud Attorney
Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. has vast experience with cases related to securities fraud or stockbroker misconduct. If you are looking for a securities fraud attorney to review your rights and options, the securities fraud lawyers at Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. represent individual and institutional investors across the United States who have lost money as a result of securities fraud or stockbroker misconduct. We will aggressively pursue claims to recover your losses or damages.
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