Accusations
This week, bombshell accusations were filed in a New York court, detailing a scheme by Iani “Yanni” Tassev to allegedly steal over $1,000,000 from 10 investors in a tech startup where he worked as a customer service representative. Reference
The Scheme
According to the allegations, Tassev befriended investors and claimed that, as an early employee, he possessed numerous company shares that he could sell. He purportedly offered investors ten shares for the price of one and instructed them to wire cash into bank accounts he controlled in Nevada. However, the legal filings assert that Tassev did not actually own any shares. He then allegedly sent the victims fraudulent stock transfer contracts and attempted to enter the shares into his employer’s stock database.
The Employer
In the court filings, the company clarified that Tassev did not have any shares to sell and that they had obtained a full confession. They also presented records of wire transfers and information from the victims detailing how they believed Tassev had defrauded them. The company has reported all such conduct to the FBI.
Tassev’s Cover-Up
Recent findings from Tassev’s Instagram page suggest that he has fled the country and is currently residing in Bulgaria. After leaving the company, he reportedly began covertly posting confidential company information, including recorded audio and internal email communications. This information appeared in online publications and YouTube channels specializing in negative news content. Tassev’s then created a Facebook group and a Telegram chat to criticize the company, filling it with negative, false, and misleading information. He subsequently emailed a stolen list of employees and investors, inviting them to join the group. Tassev also engaged in a targeted harassment campaign of dozens of the company’s employees.
The apparent motive became clear when group members reported that Tassev was offering to buy back their shares at a low price. His potential plan was to tank the stock price and repurchase the shares he had purportedly stolen to avoid liability.
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The Victims
Are the defrauded investors victims or co-conspirators? The answer is not yet clear. Surely, someone offering to sell something at a 90% discount would raise suspicion. Imagine a person selling a $100 pair of sneakers from their trunk for $10. Wouldn’t you suspect they might be stolen?
We contacted the company, but they had no comment on the matter.