An Orlando man has been handed a hefty 24-year federal prison sentence for swindling over $57 million from investors in a sweeping wire fraud and money laundering operation. Avinash Singh, age 42, was the mastermind behind Highrise Advantage, LLC, an enterprise that promised riches through foreign exchange trading but delivered nothing but financial ruin to its clientele, according to details from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.
The court learned how from February 2013 to September 2020, Singh lured over 1,100 victims into his scheme with lofty assurances of a "guarantee" against trading losses; Singh had promised to invest their funds in retail forex trading, though this was where his truth took its leave, instead he moved money among investors and defrauded them out of millions, a classic Ponzi strategy. U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza, tasked with passing sentence, also ordered the forfeit of Singh's ill-gotten gains, which includes various real estate assets, according to the Department of Justice.
Singh's plea of guilty to the offenses was entered on May 6th, signaling perhaps a small window of remorse for the extravagant splurges on personal expenses at the cost of investors' dreams; these splashes of cash ranged from real estate to music studio space, as he had evidently fancied himself a musician on the side. The case was uncovered through a collaborative effort spearheaded by the IRS Criminal Investigation's Tampa Field Office alongside the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Office of Inspector General, and the State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation.
Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation's Tampa Field Office, Ron Loecker, issued a stinging rebuke of Singh's lavish lifestyle supported by the pillars of deception, remarking on the Department of Justice, "This case epitomizes selfish greed at an astonishing level," and stressed the commitment of law enforcement to hold accountable such individuals who leverage illegality for personal elevation; Assistant United States Attorney Amanda S. Daniels helmed Singh's prosecution, while asset recovery fell under the purview of Assistant United States Attorney Nicole M. Andrejko.
