FX trader pleads not guilty to fraud charges
Dro Kholamian stands accused of causing losses of at least $700,000 to investors.
Arraignment proceedings in the case against FX trader Dro Kholamian were held on September 1, 2020.
The defendant, who stands accused of fraud, acknowledged receipt of the indictment and waived formal reading. He entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the Indictment filed in August 2020.
The court excludes time from September 1, 2020 to October 16, 2020 under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7) to serve the ends of justice, without objection. Excluding time is set to allow the parties the reasonable time necessary to effectively prepare the case, which includes time to review discovery materials, consider pretrial motions, and discuss potential resolution of the case. Such delay outweighs the interests of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial. The government and the defense agreed on certain conditions of pretrial release.
Dro Kholamian was a self-employed trader, who traded commodity futures contracts and Forex contracts. He was the President and Manager of Blue Star Trading, LLC.
According to the indictment, deginning in or about January 2013, and continuing at least until June 2020, the defendant participated in a scheme to defraud. It was a part of the scheme that Kholamian made materially false representations to victims in order to fraudulently obtain and retain their funds. These false representations concerned aspects such as the risks involved in investing and when the funds would be repaid.
Instead of using the victims’ funds as promised, Kholamian misappropriated a substantial portion of those funds to pay for his own personal expenses causing losses to the victims of at least $700,000.
The case continues at the Illinois Northern District Court.
