A federal judge this week sentenced Francius Marganda to 18 years’ imprisonment for running a $24.5 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded hundreds of predominantly Indonesian and Indo-American victim investors, officials stated.
Marganda, an Indonesian national, led the scheme until it unraveled in 2021, and he fled the United States.
Marganda was extradited to the United States from Singapore in November 2023 and pleaded guilty to securities fraud in July 2024.
As part of his sentence, U.S. District Judge Dora L. Irizarry ordered Marganda to pay $8.5 million in restitution and $7.5 million in forfeiture. At sentencing, Judge Irizarry reviewed dozens of heartbreaking victim statements detailing the devastating impact of Marganda’s greed.
From May 2019 to May 2021, while overstaying his visa in New York, Marganda masterminded a Ponzi scheme, luring investors into two fake loan programs — Easy Transfer and Global Transfer — with promises of passive income and returns as high as 200%. Investors, duped daily, signed contracts believing they were cashing in on short-term, high-interest loans.
Instead, Marganda and his crew siphoned off the funds for luxury real estate, designer goods, lavish lifestyles, and to pay off their own credit card bills.
In just 11 months, over $3.8 million was funneled into one of Marganda’s personal accounts, with $264,000 spent on credit card debt alone.
The scam collapsed in May 2021 when payouts to investors abruptly stopped. Marganda fled the U.S., obtained a fake Indonesian passport, and burned through stolen funds globetrotting to luxury hotels in France, the Maldives, Nepal, and Thailand — until he was finally captured and extradited to New York.
So far, 237 victims from 31 states, D.C., Indonesia, and Malaysia have reported losses totaling over $24.5 million. Many victims had modest means, pooling savings with family and friends to invest. Some declared bankruptcy, others lost life savings, missed critical medical treatments, or couldn’t afford to bury loved ones — all while Marganda lived it up on their dime.