TRENTON — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today announced that a state grand jury indicted two Middlesex County men for allegedly defrauding investors out of approximately $6.7 million. The scheme used sham companies and false identities to deceive investors into believing they would receive large guaranteed returns from investments in fuel products. Instead, the defendants diverted investor funds for their own benefit.

Shahid Javed, 39, of Old Bridge, New Jersey, and Wilfredo Topacio, 64, of Woodbridge, New Jersey, were charged in an indictment with first-degree conspiracy, second-degree theft by deception, two counts of second-degree securities fraud, three counts of misconduct by a corporate official, three counts of second-degree impersonation, and two counts of first-degree money laundering in connection with the alleged fraud scheme. Javed is also charged in a separate count with second-degree passing a bad check to an investor during the alleged scheme. The indictment alleges the scheme began in or about March 2018 and continued through in or about April 2023.

As alleged in the Indictment, Javed and Topacio fraudulently obtained over $6.7 million from investors by creating the false impression that invested funds were being used by legitimate business ventures to purchase and sell fuel products for large profits and guaranteed returns. The alleged scheme included defrauding these investors into purchasing $1.1 million in investment contracts with Prime Petroleum, LLC (“Prime Petroleum”) and $5.6 million in investment contracts with Petro Traders Group, LLC (“Petro Traders”), two purportedly legitimate businesses generating substantial profits and guaranteed returns from fuel-product investments. The defendants, however, allegedly operated these entities as sham companies and diverted investor funds for their own benefit, including, among other things, purchasing expensive vehicles, making payments to friends and family, paying off prior business debts, and paying for other personal expenses.

Javed and Topacio also allegedly laundered the funds through bank accounts and corporate entities they controlled to pay the investors in excess of $500,000 in purported investment returns with the investors’ money to promote the alleged deception that their investments actually yielded returns.

“Investment-fraud schemes prey on vulnerable victims with empty promises of huge profits and guaranteed returns,” said Attorney General Platkin. “These defendants allegedly worked together to orchestrate a multi-faceted investment-fraud scheme that took advantage of New Jersey investors for several years. The time has come for them to be held accountable.”

“These defendants allegedly took advantage of investors by duping them into investing millions of dollars into sham companies and then diverted invested money to line their own pockets and to pay other personal expenses,” said Legal Chief Pablo Quiñones of the Office of Securities Fraud and Financial Crimes Prosecutions (OSFFCP). “Cases like this one are a top priority for the Division of Criminal Justice, and we will continue to relentlessly ensure bad actors are brought to justice.”

Deputy Attorney General Conner Ouellette within the OSFFCP is handling this matter, under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Adam Heck and Deputy Legal Chief Brendan Stewart.

The investigation was conducted by DCJ detectives, investigators, and analysts dedicated to investigating complex financial crimes, including Detective Nicholas Wiemken, Civil Investigator Gina Lemanowicz-Pusloski, and Special Investigator Sean McCarthy, under the supervision of Lt. Cheryl Smith. The OSFFCP expresses its appreciation to the Woodbridge Police Department for its assistance in the investigation.

The investigation of other individuals involved in the charged scheme as well as other potential victims remains ongoing. Anyone with pertinent information is asked to report the information via DCJ’s tip line at (800) 277-2427 or OSFFCP’s complaint email at OSFFCP@njdcj.org.

As is the case with all criminal defendants, the charges in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Defense attorneys: Unknown

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