Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Earlier today in federal court in Brooklyn, a ten-count indictment was unsealed charging Puthugramam “Harish” Chidambaran, the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of iLearningEngines, Inc. (iLearning), and Sayyed Farhan Ali “Farhan” Naqvi, iLearning’s former Chief Financial Officer, with running a continuing financial crimes enterprise, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud. The charges arise from the defendants’ years-long scheme to defraud retail and institutional investors in iLearning, a technology company that claimed to provide artificial intelligence (AI)-driven business automation solutions, and to obtain financing for iLearning through materially false and misleading statements about the company’s financial performance. Chidambaran was arrested this morning in Potomac, Maryland, and will appear this afternoon in federal court in the District of Maryland. Naqvi was arrested this morning in San Jose, California, and will appear this afternoon in federal court in the Northern District of California. Both defendants will appear in federal court in the Eastern District of New York at a later date.