Woodbridge Twp. Man Admits To Running Bogus Investment Scheme

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A man from the Iselin section of Woodbridge admitted Tuesday to defrauding victims in South Korea through a bogus investment scheme, acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced.

The man is Mohammed Rahman, 64, of Iselin, and he pleaded guilty in Trenton federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Federal prosecutors say Rahman controlled a company, Caltech Trading Corporation, through which he purported to buy and sell commodities. Rahman and other individuals in South Korea persuaded approximately 60 victims in that country to invest funds purportedly towards the purchase of $1 million of sugar from Brazil, which Caltech would then sell for a substantial profit.

Rahman and his associates falsely promised investors they would receive a one hundred percent return on their investment. However, instead of being used to buy sugar in Brazil, the money was instead wired into Rahman’s bank account and used to pay his personal expenses, including his mortgage, say the feds.

Rahman also altered his bank account statement in an attempt to conceal the fact that he did not use the investors’ funds to purchase sugar.

Here is the federal complaint against Rahman.

He is facing up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for May 29,