UNC project manager pleads guilty to running Ponzi scheme out of Durham firm

A UNC-Chapel Hill employee faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Durham resident Nayeem Choudhury, 27, raised approximately $9.5 million between July 2022 and this June by promising investors double-digit monthly returns with minimal to no risk. Prosecutors said Choudhury “falsely represented” that his Durham-based investment company Dream Venture Capital Group was profitable and “had a proven track record of successfully trading options.”

Instead, Choudhury lost more than $5 million in investor funds through option trading.

Prosecutors also determined he used some investor money to cover personal expenses, like buying a Mercedes Benz, and to “make Ponzi-style payments to other investors.”

A Ponzi scheme is a type of fraud in which someone uses the funds from new investors to repay earlier ones.

According to a previous complaint by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Choudhury acknowledged his actions during a June 20 phone conversation with an investor who had given him $500,000. When the investor asked Choudhury why he proclaimed his investing strategy was working when it wasn’t, Choudhury responded, “I think it was greed.”

Choudhury is still listed as a clinical research coordinator on the UNC-Chapel Hill directory. His LinkedIn bio previously showed he has been with the university since September 2020.

He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and securities fraud on Oct. 5. His sentencing is planned for March at the U.S. District Court in Greensboro.