Trenton, New Jersey.A Bergen County man and his Brooklyn-based associate were charged by Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin on Friday with defrauding a defendant’s childhood friend of her retirement funds through an investment scheme connected to their software startup, Bowmo, Inc.
Michael Lakshin of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and Edward Aizman of Brooklyn, New York, are accused of deceiving an investor into selling her $90,000 retirement account in order to finance the alleged growth of Bowmo, a job recruiting software company, according to a complaint submitted to the Superior Court in Bergen County. Prosecutors claim that the money was instead primarily misappropriated for personal expenses, such as cash advances, a lavish bed and breakfast stay, and purchases from a high-end designer store and a Jaguar Land Rover dealership.
By promising greater profits than her retirement account could offer, the defendants reportedly convinced the investor—a friend from Lakshin’s youth—to put $84,681.19 into a convertible note. According to reports, Lakshin urged the victim to trust the investment by claiming that Bowmo was a profitable business that had made him rich. State officials, however, claim that the money was utilized to support Lakshin and Aizman’s personal lives rather than expanding the company.
In a statement, Attorney General Platkin denounced the defendants’ conduct. He claimed that the defendants in this case blatantly used the hard-earned retirement funds of others to finance their extravagant lives. This lawsuit makes it quite evident that New Jersey will not tolerate this kind of flagrant investment exploitation.
The complaint aims to obtain restitution for the victim, including interest and legal costs, impose civil monetary penalties, and prohibit Lakshin, Aizman, and Bowmo from selling securities in New Jersey. Additionally, it calls for the money made from the fraudulent operation to be disgorged.
Under the direction of Director Cari Fais, the Division of Consumer Affairs emphasized how deliberate the purported scam was. According to Fais, the defendants ruthlessly utilized a personal relationship to trick an unwary victim into falling for a money-grabbing scam that was passed off as an investment opportunity.
The fraudulent behavior took place between April and August 2020, according to the lawsuit complaint. The defendants, according to the prosecution, stole the victim’s life savings by taking advantage of her confidence and her inexperience with securities investing.
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