San Antonio Standard

An Austin man, Nurnepes Nurjanov, has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for his involvement in a $1.5 million Ponzi scheme. The 34-year-old day trader was found guilty of defrauding multiple investors by promising substantial returns and sharing profits from stock trades.

Court documents reveal that Nurjanov began soliciting funds from investors in September 2019. He created agreements guaranteeing minimum returns and shared profits, convincing investors with fabricated documents that indicated favorable investment results. These false documents included a trading simulator template that showed alleged gains.

One investor contributed $50,000 in October 2019 after being shown a fraudulent statement reflecting a significant return. Another investor made several investments totaling over $500,000 between December 2020 and June 2022. This investor referred a friend who was persuaded by false statements to invest an additional $200,000. Returns received by these investors were actually proceeds from other victims' investments.

Nurjanov used the fraudulently obtained money for personal expenses, ultimately defrauding victims of $1,524,500.

On June 13, 2024, Nurjanov pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud during his initial court appearance. Alongside his prison sentence, he has been ordered to pay restitution amounting to $1,505,500.

The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Guess.