Austin man gets federal prison time for $1.5M Ponzi scheme

AUSTIN, Texas - An Austin man has been sentenced for defrauding multiple people in a $1.5 million Ponzi scheme.

34-year-old Nurnepes Nurjanov was sentenced to 41 months in prison after he pleaded guilty in June to one count of wire fraud.

In addition to prison time, he has been ordered to pay $1,505,500 in restitution.

According to court documents, Nurjanov was an informal day trader who began soliciting funds from investors in Sept. 2019. He also drafted agreements that promised minimum returns, the split on profits between him and his investors, and investor access to the trading accounts.

Nurjanov promised to use those investment funds only for stock trades and agreed to pay "50% of clean profit" to investors, says the US Attorney's Office.

In order to entice potential investors, Nurjanov created fraudulent documents indicating favorable investment returns and, using a trading simulator template, showed them his alleged gains.

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In October 2019, one investor agreed to invest $50,000, and another investor provided $50,000 in December 2020 and $142,500 in February 2021. 

That second investor made several large investments with Nurjanov over the following months before selling their business in June 2022 and investing the $325,000 proceeds with him. They also referred a friend who was convinced by false statements to wire Nurjanov $200,000.

While the investors did receive alleged investment returns, the funds were proceeds from money invested by other victims of Nurjanov’s scheme. Nurjanov spent other portions on his personal living expenses. 

In total, Nurjanov defrauded victims of $1,524,500.