South Korea sugar scammer scheduled for sentencing

A Middlesex County, New Jersey man is scheduled for sentencing on May 29, 2025, after he admitted to defrauding victims in South Korea through a bogus investment scheme.

Mohammed Rahman, 64, of Iselin, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, before U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner in Trenton federal court to an Information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Rahman controlled a company, Caltech Trading Corporation, through which he purported to buy and sell commodities.

Here is the federal complaint against Rahman.

Rahman and other individuals in South Korea persuaded approximately 60 victims there to invest funds purportedly towards the purchase of $1 million worth of sugar from Brazil, which Caltech would then sell for a substantial profit.

Rahman and his associates memorialized the investment terms in a fraudulent investment agreement that falsely promised the victim investors that they would receive a one hundred percent return on their investment.

The victims relied on Rahman’s misrepresentations about how their funds would be used which, instead of being invested towards the purchase of sugar, were wired into Rahman’s bank account and used to pay his personal expenses, including his mortgage.

Rahman also altered his bank account statement in an attempt to conceal the fact that he did not use the investors’ funds to purchase sugar.

The wire fraud conspiracy charge to which Rahman pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.