Yaroslav Shilkloper, 49, a dual Ukrainian and Israeli citizen, pleaded guilty on Dec. 18 to wire fraud for his role in a multimillion-dollar fake stock-brokerage scheme that targeted U.S. victims, the U.S. Justice Department said last week.
Shilkloper admitted participating in a criminal organization that operated a “sophisticated phone brokerage business” designed to steal “millions of dollars” from American investors, the department said.
Prosecutors said that Shilkloper and co-conspirators defrauded U.S. victims of at least $2.8 million by promising high returns through purported investment companies. Victims were given access to digital platforms that appeared to show real-time investment performance, but the data was fabricated, per court documents.
Instead, the funds were laundered through bank accounts that Shilkloper and his associates controlled in Ukraine, Georgia, Hungary, Israel, the Czech Republic and other countries.
“When victims attempted to withdraw their money, they were prevented from doing so, threatened with legal action or manipulated into sending more money to the fraud ring,” according to court documents.
Shilkloper was arrested in Poland in 2023 and extradited to the United States in 2024.
He faces up to four years in prison, a $250,000 fine and at least $800,000 in additional restitution. Nearly $2.8 million has already returned to victims with assistance from the Republic of Georgia, the Justice Department said.
