2 in Jacksonville charged with Ponzi scheme-like investment fraud

JACKSONVILLE, FL — Two Jacksonville men have been charged with an investment fraud for running a company “in the manner of a Ponzi scheme,” according to court records.

WOKV has obtained the complaint against Joshua Gilliland and Chawalit Wongkhiao. They’re accused of getting people to invest more than $1 million in Allied Markets LLC, claiming they ran a commodity pool dealing with foreign currency.

The complaint says, in many cases, the defendants would promise the victims a guaranteed return, monthly payouts, and that this was a safe investment. Instead, the federal government says the small portion of funds which was actually invested netted a loss- which wasn’t disclosed to the victims- and Gilliland and Wongkhaio spent the money on personal expenses. The complaint says they used about $64,000 on restaurants and entertainment, $33,000 on travel and hotels, and $66,000 on personal rent. Further, they’re accused of transferring $83,200 to their personal bank accounts, withdrawing $105,000 from ATMs and getting $34,000 in cash at various banks.

A portion of the money was also used to continue funding the investment scheme, according to the complaint.

Gilliland and Wongkhaio have been indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, among other charges. If convicted, they could face up to 30 years in prison each. The federal government is also seeking $1.13 million, which is the proceeds of their alleged wire fraud offense, and $4,104,823, which represents the total involved in their alleged money laundering.

WJAX