Harvard Business School grad's Ponzi scheme swindled alums out of $2.9 million, New York attorney general says

• A Harvard Business School graduate tricked his fellow alumni and associates into investing at least $2.9 million in a Ponzi scheme, New York Attorney General Letitia James said.
• James' office said it had secured a court order blocking the grad, Vladimir Artamonov, "from harming investors through his fraudulent scheme." Artamonov allegedly projected returns of 500% to 1,000% by claiming to learn which investments Berkshire Hathaway planned to make.
• James' office said it learned of the fraud when it was told about an investor who ended his own life after discovering he had lost $100,000 in Artamonov's alleged scheme.

A Harvard Business School graduate tricked his fellow alumni and associates into investing at least $2.9 million in a Ponzi scheme he ran, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Thursday.

James' office said it had secured a court order blocking the grad, Vladimir Artamonov, "from harming investors through his fraudulent scheme," which allegedly projected returns of 500% to 1,000% by claiming to learn which investments Berkshire Hathaway planned to make.

The order in Manhattan Supreme Court also bars Artamonov from withdrawing and transferring funds in his bank and brokerage accounts.

Artamonov allegedly lured at least 29 investors into the scheme, most of whom he met through his connections to the elite college, the attorney general said.

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James' office said Artamonov lost millions of dollars in investors' funds by buying short-term options but did not disclose his losses, instead