Earlier today, Pushpesh Kumar Baid, also known as "PK Jain," pled guilty in federal court in Brooklyn to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. This plea is part of a case involving a scheme to defraud investors in Tradepay Capital LLC, a purported factoring company. The proceedings were held before United States Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom. Baid could face a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and will be required to pay restitution of over $35 million and forfeit over $2.6 million.
John J. Durham, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office, announced the guilty plea. Durham stated, "Through a complex web of shell companies, straw bank accounts, fraudulent documents, and other lies, Baid and his co-conspirators deceived their victims into investing tens of millions of dollars into a business that did not exist. Today’s plea demonstrates that my Office will hold accountable fraudsters like Baid who enrich themselves at their investors’ expense."
Durham also acknowledged the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigations team for its work on the case.
According to court filings, Baid was the head of Tradepay, which claimed to be an international factoring business. Factoring is a financial transaction where invoices are sold at a discount to a third party, who then profits when the invoice is paid in full. However, between April 2017 and October 2019, Baid and his accomplices orchestrated a scheme that made it appear Tradepay was a legitimate business, while it was, in reality, a scam. The invoices were fraudulent, and the funds investors provided were misused for personal expenses through a network of shell companies.
Investors initially received payments on the invoices, encouraging them to invest more. However, payments stopped by approximately July 2019, leading to losses of around $35 million.
As part of his plea, Baid admitted to defrauding investors in Luxestreet Inc., also known previously as Asset Capital Partners LLC. Baid claimed Luxestreet operated similarly to a pawn shop for luxury goods. In reality, Luxestreet’s contracts were forged, and the goods were imitations.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section, with Assistant United States Attorneys Dylan A. Stern, Benjamin Weintraub, and Molly Delaney prosecuting, supported by Paralegal Specialist Sarah Burn.
Pushpesh Kumar Baid is identified in court documents as 44-years-old, residing in Miami, Florida. Case docketed under No. 21-CR-367 (DC).
