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New Jersey trucking company owner charged in multi-million dollar ‘classic Ponzi scheme’

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The owner of a small trucking company has been charged in connection with a multi-year, multi-million dollar scheme to defraud investors.

New Jersey resident Arsen Lusher, 49, was arrested on October 25 on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identify theft, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Officials say that between 2017 and 2021, Lusher orchestrated a scheme to defraud over 20 investors out of more than $5 million.

“For years, the defendant allegedly solicited investors’ funds by representing that he had a hugely profitable trucking business. That wasn’t true, and the defendant instead allegedly used the funds to run a classic Ponzi scheme, enriching himself along the way. When luck ran out, the victims sustained millions of dollars in losses. Today’s arrest serves as a stark reminder that the illusion of success built on fraud and deceit will inevitably fail,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

As part of the scheme, officials say that Lusher and a group of associates asserted that Lusher ran a successful trucking company that hauled goods for multiple large retailers. Investors were allegedly told that for about $45,000 they could fund the purchase of a truck, and in return, these investments would generate high rates of return over a fixed period—typically between 30% and 40% over one or two years. Lusher was able to raise more than $40 million through this scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

In reality, officials say that Lusher’s small company only did about $300,000 worth of business with one major retailer — not enough to produce the promised returns for investors.

Rather than using the investor money to purchase trucks or grow his trucking business, Lusher is said to have “paid earlier victims with later victims’ funds” and spent on gambling and high-end goods. In this way, Lusher was reportedly able to maintain the scheme for years, until it finally collapsed in early 2021, “leaving numerous victims with losses totaling more than $5 million.”

Lusher is also accused of using fake documents to carry out the scheme.

FBI Assistant Director James E. Dennehy said: “For four years, Arsen Lusher allegedly defrauded numerous victims of more than $5 million by cycling their investments to conceal the business’s inability to produce its promised returns, and altered official tax documents to reflect inflated balances in furtherance of this ploy. The alleged empty assurances allowed the defendant to wrongfully haul in funding from investors and selfishly benefit from their losses.  The FBI will continue to disrupt and hit the brakes on any investment scheme rooted in deceit.”

IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Fattorusso said: “It’s alleged Lusher acted with impunity for years, deceiving over 20 investors out of more than five million dollars. He created a ‘get-rich-quick’ scheme, then sold his victims a dream of high-returns on their investment.  Instead of a profit, investors were left with a loss of money and of trust. Today’s arrest ensures that Lusher can now be held accountable for his alleged fraud.”

CBP Director Francis J. Russo said: “U.S. Customs and Border Protection is proud to have played an important role in this investigation that resulted in the takedown of an elaborate conspiracy to defraud the United States. This case serves as a great example of how collaborative law enforcement efforts can dismantle nefarious enterprises that cause economic harm to their competitors.”

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