East Bay Man Pleads Guilty to Multi-Million-Dollar Investment Fraud Scheme

SAN FRANCISCO—Krittibas Ray pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco today to two counts of wire fraud resulting from his operation of a multi-million-dollar fraudulent investment scheme, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.

In pleading guilty, Ray admitted to enticing victims to invest in hedge funds he operated by falsely telling them that by placing funds into banks in India, he could guarantee returns of 7 to 8.5 percent and that the hedge funds he was operating were profitable. In addition, Ray admitted that he failed to disclose to investors that he was using their money for personal expenses and to pay other investors and that the gains he reported to investors were false.

Ray admitted that he received approximately $3.3 million from investors between February 2008 and December 2011 and that his fraudulent scheme caused more than $2.5 million of losses.

Ray, 43, of Albany, California, was arrested on December 16, 2011 after he was charged by criminal complaint. On December 29, 2011, a federal grand jury indicted Ray on two counts of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, and one count of money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957. According to the plea agreement, Ray pleaded guilty to both wire fraud counts.

Ray has been in custody since his arrest. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 15, 2012 at 11 a.m. before United States District Court Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, is 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and restitution. Any sentence following conviction, however, would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Hallie Mitchell is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Elizabeth Garcia. The prosecution is the result of an eight-month investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.