Feds: 26-year-old con man showed off money, lavish lifestyle
ABC 7 I-Team Investigation
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Federal authorities said a 26-year-old trader has been indicted on charges that he swindled more than a dozen investment clients out of at least $1.5 million.
Randall "Randy" Rye is accused of using the money to finance a lavish lifestyle.
Investigators said Rye was not shy about showing off the spoils of his alleged investment scheme. His social media accounts were filled with photos of trips around the world, expensive clothes and meals at fancy restaurants.
The young Chicago trader is in federal custody charged with a one-man, con-man routine, allegedly having fleeced wealthy investors out of their money.
When Randall Rye moved to Chicago just a few years out of high school in southern California, he noted on social media that he was looking forward to his first snowfall.
Less than five years later, federal prosecutors have charged Rye in a $1.5 million snow job, alleging that he cheated at least 15 investment clients in options and futures contracts.
According to U.S. court records, Rye's bank and federal investigators detected unusual spending patterns in his account-wire transfers in and out, $12,000 on Korean Air tickets, $10,000 at a resort in Bali; $20,000 in luxury watch shops at a Vegas casino and $100,000 dollars he allegedly sent to his mother in San Diego.
Rye was arrested last month and is still being held at the county jail in Kankakee, a facility sometimes used by federal authorities.
The original case was sealed and an indictment against Rye was made public Friday.
The young trader was not bashful about showing off his trips, or what investigators believe to be the swag from his swindles. Posted on his social media pages are pictures at Wrigley Field including one with Bill Murray during the Cubs World Series run, meals at fine dining restaurants, on tropical beaches, shopping for expensive clothes and wearing high-end watches.
Federal agents said Rye promised investors their money would be put through his proprietary trading algorithm. In reality they said it was put into his pocket.
He faces six counts of wire fraud, each carrying maximum prison time of 20 years. It is unusual for someone charged in this kind of case to be held without bond.
His arraignment is set for next week.
