Hicks Indicted for $2.5 Million Fraud Scheme in Connection with Purported Investment Fund

BOSTON—A Boston area man was indicted today in federal court with wire fraud in connection with two entities he operated, Locust Offshore Management LLC and Locust Offshore Fund, Ltd.

Andrey C. Hicks, 27, most recently residing in Andover, was charged in an indictment with five counts of wire fraud.

The indictment alleges that since March 2011, Hicks has obtained more than $2.5 million from approximately 10 investors, using the two Locust entities which operated from a location in Cambridge, Mass. According to the indictment, Hicks misrepresented his background and experience and painted a false picture of the Locust entities in order to persuade his victims to invest. Among other things, it is alleged that Hicks falsely represented: that he held undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard University; that he had recently worked as a successful hedge fund manager for Barclays Capital; that the Locust Fund was registered as a British Virgin Islands Business Company, with Ernst and Young as its auditors and Credit Suisse Group as its “prime broker” and “custodian.” Hicks allegedly claimed that the Locust Fund had approximately $1.2 billion dollars under management, and that it had earned a nearly 80 percent profit in trading in 2011. According to the indictment, instead of investing the funds given to him and the Locust entities, Hicks used the funds for his own personal and business purposes.

If convicted Hicks faces up to 20 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each count.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Boston Field Division; and Kevin Weeks, Director of Field Operations for U.S. Customs & Border Protection made the announcement today. The Securities and Exchange Commission also provided assistance. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica Lei of Ortiz’s Asset Forfeiture Unit.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.