A California man used $23 million in investor money to live a lavish life, buying cars and a condo in Chicago: prosecutors

CHICAGO – A California man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for orchestrating a scheme to defraud investors of $23.1 million that he used to finance an extravagant lifestyle.

Sean Grusd, 32, of Los Angeles, ran three investment funds that he claimed focused on private financial technology companies, according to prosecutors. He convinced more than a dozen victims to invest by providing misleading information about his funds’ alleged past successes.

Starting in 2021, Grusd marketed its funds with false claims, including claiming that one of them was an early investor in well-known startups such as Instacart, Coinbase, and Shippo. He also falsely claimed to be a graduate of Harvard Law School and to have managed the portfolio of the CEO of a major investment firm, prosecutors said.

His elaborate plan convinced the victims, some of whom invested significant portions of their savings, to trust him with their money.

However, instead of investing the funds as promised, Grusd transferred the money to his personal accounts and spent it on luxury items such as Porsche and Tesla cars, luxury condos in Chicago and Montreal, and lavish travel and entertainment.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Rubenstein described Grusd’s actions as “a horrific barrage of conscious decisions” that caused immense financial harm to victims.

Grusd pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court in Chicago last year. In addition to the prison sentence, he was ordered to pay more than $21 million in restitution to his victims.