一名哈佛商学院（Harvard Business School）毕业生上周四因涉嫌诈骗被捕。他被控通过庞氏骗局从这所名校的校友手中骗取逾400万美元，他甚至向一名投资者保证，他们很快就能在校友聚会上“炫耀惊人的回报”。
现年46岁的弗拉基米尔·阿塔莫诺夫在其居住地马里兰州埃尔克里奇被捕。他被控于2021年9月至2024年2月期间实施证券欺诈、电汇欺诈和投资顾问欺诈。
曼哈顿联邦法院解封的起诉书显示，阿塔莫诺夫以高回报、低风险为诱饵，欺骗昔日同学及其他校友投资。他曾对一名投资者表示：“这将是你最成功的一笔投资。我们的判断滴水不漏。”
哈佛大学及阿塔莫诺夫的律师未立即回应置评请求。阿塔莫诺夫在马里兰州联邦法院地方法官庭审中获准以30万美元保释，并被要求不得接触受害者或潜在证人。
纽约州总检察长莱蒂蒂亚·詹姆斯于2024年2月下旬首次披露了对阿塔莫诺夫的指控。她在当时的新闻稿中表示，其办公室是在数十名投资者中，一人因亏损10万美元而自杀后，才得知这起诈骗案的。
詹姆斯指出：“即便是资深投资者也可能被骗，当诈骗者利用人际关系网络构筑虚假信任时尤其如此。”
她表示，阿塔莫诺夫“利用其哈佛商学院校友身份，以看似合法可靠的形象欺诈同学和其他人士”。
当局称，阿塔莫诺夫于2003年获得哈佛大学工商管理硕士学位，他利用学校的校友网络物色投资者。
起诉书指出，阿塔莫诺夫向投资者承诺，他能通过提前获取伯克希尔哈撒韦公司（Berkshire Hathaway Inc.）旗下保险公司的申报文件，在其正式递交至证券交易委员会（Securities and Exchange Commission）并受到投资者广泛关注之前，就辨识出即将大涨的证券。
但起诉书指出，他并未按照这一计划操作，而是将投资者资金投入高风险短期期权交易，通常在拿到资金后数日内就亏损数百万美元。
起诉书显示，他多次向投资者保证巨额收益即将到来，甚至向一名投资者承诺“几乎可以确定我们很快就会赚得盆满钵满”，并且他们将在哈佛商学院的校友聚会上“炫耀惊人的回报”。
起诉书还指出，当投资者最终要求收回资金时，阿塔莫诺夫仅返还不到40万美元。他要么拆东墙补西墙，用新投资者的资金支付给之前的投资者，要么干脆拒绝返还。
起诉书称，阿塔莫诺夫将大部分资金亏损殆尽，并花费数万美元用于住宿、餐饮和交通等开销。
纽约FBI办公室负责人克里斯托弗·G·赖亚在一份新闻稿中表示，阿塔莫诺夫“利用一所名校和一家知名投资公司的声望，非法募集投资资金，并将其挪作个人开销。”
美国检察官杰伊·克莱顿则表示，阿塔莫诺夫“背叛了投资者，其中包括朋友和昔日常春藤校友”。（*）
译者：刘进龙
审校：汪皓
一名哈佛商学院（Harvard Business School）毕业生上周四因涉嫌诈骗被捕。他被控通过庞氏骗局从这所名校的校友手中骗取逾400万美元，他甚至向一名投资者保证，他们很快就能在校友聚会上“炫耀惊人的回报”。
现年46岁的弗拉基米尔·阿塔莫诺夫在其居住地马里兰州埃尔克里奇被捕。他被控于2021年9月至2024年2月期间实施证券欺诈、电汇欺诈和投资顾问欺诈。
曼哈顿联邦法院解封的起诉书显示，阿塔莫诺夫以高回报、低风险为诱饵，欺骗昔日同学及其他校友投资。他曾对一名投资者表示：“这将是你最成功的一笔投资。我们的判断滴水不漏。”
哈佛大学及阿塔莫诺夫的律师未立即回应置评请求。阿塔莫诺夫在马里兰州联邦法院地方法官庭审中获准以30万美元保释，并被要求不得接触受害者或潜在证人。
纽约州总检察长莱蒂蒂亚·詹姆斯于2024年2月下旬首次披露了对阿塔莫诺夫的指控。她在当时的新闻稿中表示，其办公室是在数十名投资者中，一人因亏损10万美元而自杀后，才得知这起诈骗案的。
詹姆斯指出：“即便是资深投资者也可能被骗，当诈骗者利用人际关系网络构筑虚假信任时尤其如此。”
她表示，阿塔莫诺夫“利用其哈佛商学院校友身份，以看似合法可靠的形象欺诈同学和其他人士”。
当局称，阿塔莫诺夫于2003年获得哈佛大学工商管理硕士学位，他利用学校的校友网络物色投资者。
起诉书指出，阿塔莫诺夫向投资者承诺，他能通过提前获取伯克希尔哈撒韦公司（Berkshire Hathaway Inc.）旗下保险公司的申报文件，在其正式递交至证券交易委员会（Securities and Exchange Commission）并受到投资者广泛关注之前，就辨识出即将大涨的证券。
但起诉书指出，他并未按照这一计划操作，而是将投资者资金投入高风险短期期权交易，通常在拿到资金后数日内就亏损数百万美元。
起诉书显示，他多次向投资者保证巨额收益即将到来，甚至向一名投资者承诺“几乎可以确定我们很快就会赚得盆满钵满”，并且他们将在哈佛商学院的校友聚会上“炫耀惊人的回报”。
起诉书还指出，当投资者最终要求收回资金时，阿塔莫诺夫仅返还不到40万美元。他要么拆东墙补西墙，用新投资者的资金支付给之前的投资者，要么干脆拒绝返还。
起诉书称，阿塔莫诺夫将大部分资金亏损殆尽，并花费数万美元用于住宿、餐饮和交通等开销。
纽约FBI办公室负责人克里斯托弗·G·赖亚在一份新闻稿中表示，阿塔莫诺夫“利用一所名校和一家知名投资公司的声望，非法募集投资资金，并将其挪作个人开销。”
美国检察官杰伊·克莱顿则表示，阿塔莫诺夫“背叛了投资者，其中包括朋友和昔日常春藤校友”。（*）
译者：刘进龙
审校：汪皓
A Harvard Business School graduate was arrested Thursday on fraud charges alleging he swindled fellow alumni of the prestigious school out of over $4 million in a Ponzi scheme, even assuring one investor they would soon “brag” about their “crazy gains” at the school’s reunion.
Vladimir Artamonov, 46, was taken into custody in Elkridge, Maryland, where he lived, and was charged with securities, wire and investment adviser fraud for allegedly carrying out the scheme from September 2021 through February 2024.
An indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court said Artamonov promised big returns and little risk to dupe former classmates and other alumni into investing with him, telling one investor: “It will be your best investment. The insight is air tight.”
Messages for comment left with Harvard and a lawyer for Artamonov were not immediately returned. Artamonov, appearing before a magistrate judge in federal court in Maryland, was released on $300,000 bail with instructions to have no contact with victims or potential trial witnesses.
The allegations against Artamonov were first revealed in late February 2024 by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who said in a news release then that her office learned about the fraud after one of several dozen investors ended his own life after learning he had lost $100,000.
“Even sophisticated investors can be conned by fraudsters, especially when personal relationships and networks are used to build a false sense of trust,” James said.
She said Artamonov “used his alumnus status from Harvard Business School to prey on his classmates and others while seeming legitimate and dependable.”
Artamonov, a 2003 Harvard graduate with a master’s in business administration, used the school’s alumni network to identify investors, authorities said.
The indictment said he promised investors that he could identify securities on the verge of making large gains by spotting public insurance company filings by affiliates of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. prior to public filings made to the Securities and Exchange Commission that are more closely followed by investors.
Instead of following that plan, Artamonov put investor money into risky short-term options, losing millions of dollars, often within days of receiving the money from investors, the indictment said.
It said he repeatedly assured investors that big profits were on the horizon and even promised one investor that it was “almost certain we will make a ton of money” soon and that they would “brag” about their “crazy gains” at the Harvard Business School reunion.
Investors eventually demanded their money back, causing Artamonov to return less than $400,000 by paying original investors with money from new investors or by declining to reimburse them at all, the indictment said.
It said Artamonov lost most of the money or spent tens of thousands of dollars on items such as lodging, food and alcohol, and transportation.
Christopher G. Raia, head of New York’s FBI office, said in a news release that Artamonov “exploited the prestige of a well-respected university and investment company to unlawfully rocure investments, which he used to pay for personal expenses.”
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said Artamonov “betrayed investors, including friends and former Ivy League classmates.”