On July 8, Edwin Fujinaga, Junzo Suzuki, and Paul Suzuki were indicted in the District of Nevada for allegedly carrying out a Ponzi scheme. The three men were executives of the Las Vegas-based investment company MRI International, Inc. The indictment alleges that, from 2009 to 2013, the defendants solicited investments from Japanese residents by promising to invest the money in medical accounts receivables and to enlist an independent third-party escrow company to manage the funds. Instead, the defendants allegedly used new investors’ money to pay back prior investors, while also diverting some of the money to pay personal expenses. According to the indictment, MRI currently owes investors $1.5 billion. Each defendant was charged with eight counts of mail fraud and nine counts of wire fraud. Fujinaga also faces three counts of money laundering. United States v. Fujinaga, 15-cr-198 (D. Nev.). DOJ Press Release
