Durham Man Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to $9.5 Million Scheme to Defraud Investors

GREENSBORO –A Durham man pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and securities fraud in connection with a $9.5 million investment fraud scheme, announced Sandra J. Hairston, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina.

According to court documents, between July 2022 and June 2023, NAYEEM CHOUDHURY, 27, solicited investments for his company, Dream Venture Capital Group, which CHOUDHURY marketed as a fund that traded in option contracts. CHOUDHURY raised approximately $9.5 million from investors and induced victims to invest by promising high rates of return and telling victims that they could invest their capital with no risk. CHOUDHURY also falsely represented to investors that Dream Venture was profitable and that it had a proven track record of successfully trading options. CHOUDHURY lost over $5 million in investor money trading options.

In addition to the massive trading losses, CHOUDHURY used a portion of the investor money on personal expenses, including the purchase of Mercedes Benz, and to make Ponzi-style payments to other investors.

Sentencing is scheduled to take place on March 21, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, courtroom number 4, before United States District Judge Loretta C. Biggs. At sentencing, CHOUDHURY faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison, a period of supervised release of up to three years, restitution, and other monetary penalties.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Waid.

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