A Greensboro man faces federal charges in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 25 people out of about $6.8 million since 2014, authorities said.
David Schamens, 64, was charged Monday with wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. He is accused of using some of the money to repay earlier investors in the manner of a Ponzi scheme and to pay for his personal expenses, including a house and luxury car, according to the release.
Authorities accuse Schamens of fraudulently soliciting investments in various entities he controlled, including TD Trading LLC, TFG Trading LLC, TradeStream Analytics LTD, Tradedesk Financial Group Inc. and others, by promising investors they could see annual returns of 12% to 30%. In 2019, he began seeking investors in Tradestream Algo Fund, an algorithm-based trading pool that he claimed to have developed, according to the criminal complaint and statements made in court.
He is accused of moving money through several different bank accounts before using it for something not related to investing. Authorities say Schamens sent victims false account statements; posted false monthly account statements to his companies’ websites showing balances for trading accounts that did not exist; and sent false tax documents reporting earnings that did not exist.
