Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018 | 4:30 p.m.
A Las Vegas man who duped investors out of nearly $2 million, using the funds to gamble and for a lavish lifestyle, pleaded guilty today to eight counts of wire fraud, according to the office of the Nevada U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Jihad Anthony Zogheib, 52, faces up to 20 years in prison. He’s scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 15.
For about a three-year period beginning in 2010, Zogheib targeted victims by misrepresenting his economic might, officials said.
In 2011, for instance, a victim starting a pair of mobile crane businesses encountered Zogheib, who told him he had millions in an on-hold overseas account, showing him false bank records, officials said.
That victim was then tricked into giving the suspect nearly $550,000, officials said.
Additionally, two real-estate investors were schemed out of $1.3 million, officials said. The suspect had told them the money would go to properties he would flip for profit.
However, Zogheib’s investments were “nonexistent,” officials said. Instead, he “immediately used the victims’ investment monies to fund his gambling habit and high-end lifestyle.”
In addition to a prison sentence, Zogheib was ordered to forfeit more than $800,000 and he faces a $250,000 fine, officials said. The case was investigated by the FBI.
