‘Fast-talking fraudster’ sentenced in $8.7 million trucking company Ponzi scheme

A New Jersey man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for deceiving investors out of millions of dollars with a trucking company Ponzi scheme.

Arsen Lusher was sentenced to 42 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release , according to an April 24, 2026, statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Lusher was also ordered to pay $8,740,440 in forfeiture and $8,740,440 in restitution.

Lusher pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in August 2025.

“Today’s 42-month sentence comes at the end of a too common story:  a fast-talking fraudster promising exceptional returns but not giving investors basic information,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Arsen Lusher lied to victims about the nature of his business to line his own pockets.  When the walls came closing in, Lusher doubled down, creating false documents to try to lull his victims into a false sense of security about their investments. Lusher’s fraud was brazen, and it cost his victims nearly $9 million. A good rule of thumb for investors: no audit, no investment.”

Authorities say that from at least 2017 through at least February 2021, Lusher and associates represented to more than 20 investors that he ran a profitable trucking company with delivery and installation contracts with multiple large retailers.

As part of the Ponzi scheme, officials say Lusher invited investors to fund the purchase of trucks and promised rates of return as high as 30 and 40 percent over one or two years.

“In that way, the defendant succeeded in raising approximately more than $40 million from his victims during the scheme.  But the defendant did not have a large trucking business, and he did not invest the victims’ money into any trucking business.  Instead, the defendant paid earlier victims with later victims’ funds, sustaining the scheme for years,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

While taking part in the scheme, Lusher lived a “lavish life,” gambling away millions and taking part in high-end shopping sprees for items from brands like Louis Vuitton and Hermès.

The Ponzi scheme collapsed in late 2020 and early 2021, costing investors at least $8,740,440.

In order to assuage investors, authorities say that Lusher created falsified documents to continue to solicit investments.

“For example, in January 2021, the defendant created and caused to be sent to a particular victim (“Victim-1”) a falsified email, in which the defendant altered account balances for two of the companies that the defendant used to perpetrate the scheme that had been reported to the defendant by an employee from a particular bank (“Bank-1”).  The email that the defendant received from Bank-1 is shown below left; the email that the defendant altered and caused to be sent to Victim‑1 is below right.  Instead of “8,767.26,” and “$320.76,” the defendant altered the email to state that his companies had account balances of $1,228,767.26 and $987,320.76 (italics and bold added),” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.