Orlando Man Arrested in Million-Dollar Fraud Scheme

ORLANDO, FL—United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Gurudeo “Buddy” Persaud (47, Orlando) with one count of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud. If convicted, Persaud faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count.

According to the indictment, Persaud formed White Elephant Trading Company, LLC in 2007. White Elephant was a private equity fund that purportedly invested in securities on the national markets. Persaud solicited investors by telling them that he would generate profits using his trading skills and that he would make all trading decisions. Persaud guaranteed investors rates of return of 6 percent to 18 percent that were payable in a short period of time. However, Persaud used a trading strategy that was based on lunar cycles and the gravitational pull between the moon and the Earth. Furthermore, Persaud did not invest all of the money that he received from investors, but instead used money from later investors to pay earlier investors and used significant portions of the money for his own personal use. Persaud defrauded investors out of approximately $1,000,000.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Haas.